 | January 7, 2011 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
- Fast Retailing to refocus on core business
Fast Retailing's Uniqlo chain of apparel stores grew from a small chain of tailoring shops in Japan to become fast fashion's international leader, but increased competition and diversification that left the company with too many unsold products took a toll on sales and profit last year. Founder and president Tadashi Yanai plans to take the chain back to basics with fewer lines and a focus on basic apparel pieces. Bloomberg Businessweek (1/6)       - Sam's Club adds a personal touch for premium members
Technology has boosted Sam's Club's ability to offer its best customers personalized deals and product recommendations based on their shopping histories. Members who pay a premium for the chain's "plus" membership have promotions automatically loaded onto their membership cards and they can access the information online. STORES magazine (1/2011)  | |  | | | Multichannel Retailing 2010: Facts, Issues, and Opportunities for Growth.
Most retailers operate with a combination of stores, websites and other channels. But what is really being achieved with the extension of multichannel retailing, and which challenges and opportunities do you need to address now to stay competitive in 2011? Find out with this free, in-depth market research. | |  |  |  |
- Traditional grocers face changes on all sides
Large, traditional grocery chains such as SUPERVALU are adjusting to a changing marketplace that has brought increased competition from both higher-end stores and discounters. The traditional stores "are not the cheapest, they're not the most organic or sustainable, and many of them are set up for the way people used to shop," said one consultant, noting that most people no longer buy a week's supply of food in a single trip to the grocery store. Chicago Tribune (1/6) - Increasing cotton prices prompt more use of rayon
With the price of cotton up 91% last year, fashion designers and clothing makers shifted to less-expensive alternatives. Rayon has emerged as a favorite option. "In general, we try to find alternatives to cotton whenever possible," said Sera Coblentz, who develops clothes for Meryl Diamond. The Wall Street Journal (1/6) - Personal shoppers tailor their work to post-recession reality
Image consultants and personal shoppers were riding high in the years leading up the to recession, when high-income professionals shelled out up to $300 an hour for their expert services. Now they've had to shift how they work to deal with a post-recession economy, changes that include taking paid gigs at job fairs to help job-seekers dress for success. Bloomberg Businessweek (1/6) - EBay fashion app augments reality
EBay has added to its iPhone 4 fashion app a feature that allows users to virtually try on sunglasses by superimposing them on a photo. The selection is limited to a few items in the first version of the app, but the company says it plans to expand the feature to include more products . Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (1/7)  | Cognizant & RIS News Present: Ten Megatrends that Will Rock the Retail World. The retail landscape is forever altered by the escalating demands of the Millennial generation, social media, mobile communications and more. This dramatic shift is driving the need for a radically different shopping experience. Download our new report, and find out how you can earn a $15 iTunes gift card. Click here to learn more. |
| NRF News |  | | | - Retail's BIG Show: Brand new 7 in 2011
What's new this year at Retail's BIG Show? From our new mobile site and Twitter wall to a new educational symposium dedicated to all things green, NRF's Margaret Little shares the top 7 things you won't want to miss at the Centennial Celebration. Learn more.
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - Pizza Hut to invest $10 million in Lousiana markets
Pizza Hut will spend $10 million in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge markets in the next 18 months, building restaurants and providing job training and counseling for workers who lost their jobs when former franchisee Larry Lundy closed his 44 stores in the markets. The chain will partner with the National Urban League and the Urban League of Greater New Orleans in its redevelopment project. PizzaMarketplace.com (1/6) - Subway experiments with gluten-free foods
Subway is testing gluten-free rolls and brownies at stores in Dallas and Tyler, Texas. They come prepackaged, and workers are being trained to make sandwiches without making contact with gluten. They will cut the bread with a prewrapped, single-use knife and one staffer will prepare the sandwiches rather than send it down the assembly line. QSRWeb.com (1/6)  | |  | | The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
Today's leading technologies provide new ways to solve old problems. See Family Dollar's CIO, Joshua Jewett, discuss "Delivering Business Impact with SaaS" describing how Family Dollar used a SaaS-based inventory solution to quickly deliver significant results. Visit 4R @ NRF - Booth 436 - to learn more.
Interested in learning more about advertising in NRF SmartBrief? Contact Susan W. Kim at (202) 407-7877 or skim@smartbrief.com.  | |  | |  |
| Career Track | | | |
 | |  | | | | |  |  Senior Buyer for Wine | Total Wine & More | Potomac, MD | | Director of eCommerce | South Moon Under | Berlin, MD | | Senior Project Manager | PetSmart | Phoenix, AZ | | Buyer - Ladies Apparel - Special Sizes | Stein Mart | Jacksonville, FL | | Chief Merchant/General Merchandise Manager | Moosejaw Mountaineering | Madison Heights, MI | | Vice President of Strategic Planning | Rent-A-Center | Plano, TX | | Senior Merchandise Planner/Distributor | Navy Exchange Service Command | Virginia Beach, VA | | Divisional Merchandise Manager | Navy Exchange Service Command | Virginia Beach, VA | | Traffic Management Specialist | Navy Exchange Service Command | Virginia Beach, VA | | Merchandise Planner | Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) | Virginia Beach, VA | | Merchandise Planner | Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) | Virginia Beach, VA | | Associate Buyer - International & Offshore Markets (Bilingual Spanish required) | OfficeMax | Naperville, IL | | | |  | |  |
| SmartQuote | | | |  | The buried talent is the sunken rock on which most lives strike and founder."
--Frederick William Faber,
British hymn writer and theologian  |
| | This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers.data@blogger.com | | | | | | | | | | Recent NRF SmartBrief Issues: - Thursday, January 06, 2011
- Wednesday, January 05, 2011
- Tuesday, January 04, 2011
- Monday, January 03, 2011
- Thursday, December 30, 2010
| | | Lead Editor: Megan Conniff
Contributing Editor: Faye Rapoport
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005 | | | | | | © 1999-2011 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information |
|
The first product to include a bar code was a pack of Wrigley's gum. Source: 
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please comment thoughtfully CPG Brokers, your best resource to optimize your in store self exposure and maximize sku distribution.