ANY LARGE development in the District must undergo a review to ensure that there are no adverse impacts to the neighborhood and that the project is in keeping with the city’s comprehensive plan. Wal-Mart, which hopes to open four stores in the District, will have to go through this process. Ahead of time, its executives [...]
Why Wal-Mart should come to retail-challenged parts of D.C. – Washington Post
February 14, 2011 Via Leave a Comment
Valentine’s Day is no longer just about the significant other – USA Today
February 14, 2011 Via Leave a Comment
What each consumer will spend on average for co-workers ($32.77) and friends ($27.99) will hit an all-time high, according to the retail group’s research. Spending on children and parents will reach $37.92, the highest level in four years. That’s about $98 vs. $77 for loved one. What Valentine’s Day stands for seems to have shifted [...]
Macy’s, Sears, PetSmart, Food Lion Rekindle Personal Touch – Ad Age
February 14, 2011 Via Leave a Comment
In days of yore, retailers knew their customers. Sales clerks sent invitations to store events, called when items of interest arrived and had Rolodexes crammed with notes about shoppers’ favorite brands and styles. That style of shopping — an intimate experience, not an anonymous one — has long been thought dead, driven to extinction by [...]
Shopper Marketing: There’s an App for that
February 12, 2011 Via Leave a Comment
Make money while you shop. Who isn’t intrigued by that prospect? At least that’s the reaction that Jeff Clapper, CEO of Zapiddy, is hoping millions of iPhone users will have when they discover the Zapiddy app in the iTunes store. “Zapiddy is an iPhone app that links CPG companies with shoppers and provides those companies [...]
Amazon.com Plans to Leave Texas Because of Taxes – Bloomberg
February 11, 2011 Via Leave a Comment
Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest online retailer, said it will close a Texas distribution facility on April 12 because of a tax dispute. “Despite much hard work and the support of other Texas officials, we’ve been unable to come to a resolution with the Texas comptroller’s office,” the Seattle-based company said today in an e-mailed [...]
Wal-Mart’s arrival in District looks like welcome advance for shopping, jobs – Washington Post
February 10, 2011 Via Leave a Comment
When politicians, agency officials and other establishment types discuss the pros and cons of Wal-Mart opening stores in poor, retail-starved neighborhoods in the District, they often talk about pretty high-minded stuff. Fair pay. Job training. Environmental safeguards. By contrast, in the scruffy blocks around the corner of New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road in Northeast [...]
Best Buy May Switch to Wal-Mart-Style Everyday Prices – Bloomberg
February 9, 2011 Via Leave a Comment
Best Buy Co., the world’s largest consumer electronics retailer, may curtail three decades of tactical discounting and move instead to its own version of the everyday prices pioneered by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. With Americans increasingly using smartphones to comparison shop, consumers are unwilling to wait for sales if they find better deals elsewhere, said Mike [...]
Wal-Mart’s push into US cities – BBC News
February 9, 2011 Via Leave a Comment
The world’s largest retailer has long struggled to find a footing in America’s urban centres, with their powerful unions and strong support for small business owners. But an economic recession finds cities struggling to create jobs and a fierce debate over Wal-Mart’s potential presence is taking hold of city councils nationwide. It is lunchtime on [...]
Retail America Is Having a Big Sale — but for How Long? – Ad Age
February 8, 2011 Via Leave a Comment
The day I received a Christmas card with a coupon from my automobile dealer, I knew the bubble was getting ready to burst. Last year, 3 billion coupons were redeemed out of the hundreds of billions that were printed. But that’s only the tip of the discount iceberg. Not only is Retail America awash in [...]
Amazon Trumps eBay, Wal-Mart, Target – Barrons
February 8, 2011 Via Leave a Comment
Wells Fargo retail analyst Matt Nemer initiated coverage today on four stocks, both new economy and old, Amazon.com, eBay, Wal-Mart Stores, and Target, writing that the lines are “increasingly blurred” between bricks-and-mortar retailers and online. Amazon is rated an Outperform, with a suggested “value range” of $197 to $226, while the other three are all [...]
