Stores Magazine - December 2007 - (Page 16)

trEnDS they see something newsworthy – the network is encouraging residents of Second Life to share their own “SL I-Reports” about events occurring within the virtual world. There’s a good chance a Second Life resident will submit an I-Report from Maple Grove, a new virtual city opened by marketing firm Canada Post. Debuting just in time for the holiday season, Maple Grove is loaded with virtual stores from real world retailers such as Toys “R” Us, The Shopping Channel, Sky Mall and Brookstone. It’s the largest collection of real life retailers ever assembled in the virtual world and it enables online shoppers to visit the 3-D virtual stores, shop and order real gifts and merchandise. M ark Twain famously said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.” But what would Mark Twain wear to work if he were living in the 21st century? Would he show up for work Environmental Extravagance Move over Neiman’s: The esteemed Dallas-based retailer is no longer the only game in town when it comes to holiday gift-giving extravagance. The World Wildlife Fund’s new holiday gift catalog features some extraordinary – not to mention expensive – gifts. Gift-givers can choose to donate from $1,000 to fund education in Kenya to $1 million to adopt a park in the Amazon. Funding a year of research on polar bears will set you back $60,000; expanding the reserve where bison roam goes for a cool $235,000. For a mere $6,000, a WWF supporter can have a hand in controlling erosion in the Rio Grande. WWF’s holiday catalog stemmed from an “increasing sense that people have enough,” says John Donoghue, senior vice president of World Wildlife Fund. “We encourage those planning to buy meaningful gifts in the near future to give an extraordinary gift that will make a real difference in the future of our planet.” 16 STORES / DECEMBER 2007 dressed like Huckleberry Finn? Unless the office dress code is spelled out explicitly by a company, it can be hard to determine exactly what’s appropriate in today’s dress-down environment. In some instances it can be difficult to tell whether employees are headed to work or an afternoon ballgame. Experts always advise unsure employees to dress conservatively and appropriately for the task at hand, and they’re quick to point out that appearance can create credibility. An American Pulse Survey recently conducted by BIGresearch suggests most workers are getting the message. When asked whether they thought that how they dressed affected their career, 28 percent said they believe that how they present themselves physically is important. Nine percent believe it’s “brains over looks” that will affect their professional development. A majority (52 percent) of adults 18 and older say they feel it’s a combination of both how they dress and their knowledge, skills and experience that influence their career trajectory. There are some interesting variables in the data based on gender and age. Men (13 percent) are far more likely than women to believe that brains are more important than what they wear to work; among workers 18 to 34 years old, 30 percent believe how they present themselves physically is important, while 15 percent say “no” — it’s brains over looks that count. CORRECTION: Goodmail Systems was misidentified in a story (“Trust, But Certify”) that was published in the November 2007 issue of STORES. WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Stores Magazine - December 2007

STORES - December 2007 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Holiday Shopping Extravagance What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Niche Marketing Eight Predictions for 2008 Concept2Watch Merchandising Strategy Sourcing E-Commerce Supply Chain Warehouse Management Software Contactless Payments Marketing Marketing Online Loeb Retail Letter ARTS Update Point of View NRF News Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

Stores Magazine - December 2007

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