How Wal-Mart's U.S. chief plans to turn around domestic sales

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March 21, 2011 News for the retail industry   Industry Watch    How Wal-Mart's U.S. chief plans to turn around domestic sales Wal-Mart lost some core customers to dollar stores during the downturn, and shifts in the retailer's merchandising strategy may have turned off many of the company's former regular shoppers. Now Wal-Mart is on a path to turn things around, says U.S. chief William Simon, with a return to everyday low pricing, plans to build smaller urban stores that will give Wal-Mart a presence in major U.S. cities, and a shift to add more products back into the mix and become a one-stop shopping destination as gas prices rise. The Wall Street Journal (3/21)   Wal-Mart expands waste reduction effort nationwide: Wal-Mart says it has eliminated 80% of the waste that used to go to California's landfills and is now expanding the successful waste-reduction program nationwide. The program, which began in California in 2009, relies on recycling, food donations and a switch to organic waste. Drug Store News (3/18) Marimekko outlines ambitious U.S., online expansion plans Finnish design firm Marimekko will open a 4,000-square-foot New York City flagship on Fifth Avenue this fall, as part of a plan that includes the addition of 22 branded in-store shops at Crate & Barrel by 2013 and other efforts to add new retail partners for its apparel, accessories and home furnishing lines. Marimekko also plans to launch its North American online retail store this summer. Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (3/21) Grocers to customers: Relax and stay for a while More grocers are turning their stores into an evening-out destination, complete with music, comfortable chairs in front of a flat-screen TV and in-store restaurants and bars. A Kroger in Columbus, Ohio, has live music at a bar serving specialty beer and wine. The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) (3/20) Store and product line expansions light Zippo's path Iconic cigarette lighter company Zippo turns 80 next year, and it's not standing still as more consumers kick the habit. Instead, the company is expanding its brand with new kiosks and specialty stores that will feature a diverse mix of branded merchandise ranging from backpacks to playing cards, all of which aim to capture the brand's rugged, durable, made-in-America feel. The Monterey County Herald (Calif.)/The Associated Press (3/20) Other News H&M temporarily closes 9 Japan locations and delays new store opening ABC News/The Associated Press (3/18) Anthropologie hires former Barneys exec to head women's apparel team Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (3/21) To become a top-performing distributor, you must: • Achieve 98% inventory accuracy. • Reach 95% on-time and complete shipment rates. • Maintain 12-hour order-to-shipment cycle times. • Achieve 13% cycle-time reductions from ERP use. Distributors, how do you stack up against top performers? View the Aberdeen webcast to find out.   Retail trends  Retailers aim for exclusive deals with movie studios Brick-and-mortar chains and online retailers, including Amazon, are beefing up efforts to gain exclusive merchandising deals with movie studios on products including extra film footage on DVD and Blu-ray, apparel, video games and digital downloads. Recently, Fox struck deals for animated film "Rio" with Overstock, paint chain Benjamin Moore and Toys R Us. Variety.com (free content) (3/19) Designers cope with higher prices by cutting cotton Cotton prices are starting to come down after reaching record highs, but the effects of higher prices still are having ripple effects through the apparel production chain. Designers have begun doing more with less by cutting out pockets, cuffs and hoods on garments and creating more sleeveless and capped-sleeve pieces to cut down on the amount of cotton needed to produce them. However, some analysts expect consumers to feel the effects of high cotton prices for the next two to three years. New York Post (3/19) Fashion brands bask in glow of royal wedding plans Any fashion brands even remotely associated with the upcoming marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton are enjoying a surge in public interest. Publicity associated with the wedding is rubbing off on clothing and accessory makers, even though the royals are forbidding brands from overtly capitalizing on the event. Brandweek (3/21) Business Gold Rewards Card® Use points to do more for your business: • Offset business travel expenses • Purchase office supplies and equipment with gift cards • Recognize employees and thank clients - Find the perfect gift with thousands of options to choose from Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN. Apply Now.   Retail Technology    Study: Social media makes inroads with the over-50 set The stereotype that social media is only for the young is just that, according to a study that shows that social media use among those 52 and older has risen fivefold in the past two years. Retailers who aren't using social media to reach out to older consumers are missing a key opportunity to market to them, said authors Bernie Brennan and Lori Schafer. "When you look at their buying power, it is less. But their sheer numbers are more," Brennan said. Hartford Business Journal (Conn.) (3/20) Akamai - The Right Partner with the Right Solution Are you failing to to satisfy user expectations for an outstanding online shopping experience? Do you need to accelerate your dynamic content? Do you strive to be a retailer that pushes the envelope with site technology and offerings? Learn why the Akamai Dynamic Site Accelerator is the right solution for those issues and more.   Hot Topics  Top five news stories selected by NRF SmartBrief readers in the past week. Specialty retailers see a sales shift to Amazon (The Wall Street Journal) Ann Taylor tailors its name to mirror new ventures (Reuters) J.C. Penney to build on the success of exclusive offerings (TheStreet.com) Retailers in Japan face challenges in quake aftermath (JapanToday.com) How department stores are going from staid to stylish (Bloomberg Businessweek) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Sponsored Content    How Objections to Social Media Are Killing Your Business Ivana Taylor Which Promotion is Right for Your Business? PAUL ROSENFELD Celebrating the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program Karen-Michelle Mirko 5 Tax Penalties You Can Easily Avoid Barbara Weltman How to Market to the Baby-Boomer Demographic Yvonne DiVita Most Popular Headlines from Last Week The 1 Office Perk You Must Splurge On Alana Horowitz Top 9 Smartphone Etiquette Blunders Katie Morell How to Apologize to Customers and Have Them Love You More Ivana Taylor Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   NRF News  Charming Shoppes, Forrester Research execs share three tips for leveraging consumer data As retail companies increase consumer data collection, some may be overwhelmed by the opportunities it presents. Charming Shoppes President and CEO Bill Bass and Forrester Research Vice President Suresh Vittal share their views on how understanding and acting on customer analytics can drive rapid innovation for any retail company. Read more. NRF SmartStat: March 21, 2011 One quarter of retailers surveyed deemed Facebook "very cost effective" during the 2010 holiday season. Source: Shop.org 2010 eHoliday survey.   Be the first to know about what's happening in retail Whether you are tweeting, updating your Facebook status or connecting professionally on LinkedIn, we've got a group for you. Learn where to connect with NRF and its divisions through a comprehensive list of social networking groups. Learn more. Learn more about NRF -> Join NRF  |  Govt Relations  |  NRF Events  |  STORES  |  NRF Foundation   Chain Restaurant News  Starbucks brews a price increase on packaged coffee Starbucks is raising prices charged to supermarkets for packaged coffee by as much as 12% for the namesake and Seattle's Best Coffee brands, the first increase since 2008, and raised the suggested retail price on a 12-ounce package by $1. The move comes as the coffee giant copes with higher coffee-bean prices. Rivals Folgers Coffee, Dunkin' Donuts, Sara Lee, Kraft Foods and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters also instituted price increases. Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas) (3/18), The Christian Science Monitor/Reuters (3/18) Other News How quickservice chains can change the way the world eats BNET (3/18)   Career Track  Merchant Opportunities at Kohl's Kohl's Menomonee Falls, WI Senior Buyer, Sports & Outdoors Amazon.com Seattle, WA Inventory Manager Tractor Supply Company brentwood, TN Director of Customer Loyalty Aeropostale New York, NY Energy Manager Tractor Supply Company Brentwood, TN Regional Retail Point of Sale (ROPS) Coordinator/NTE 2 years Headquarters, MCCS Quantico, VA Industrial Engineer LOGS Walmart Bentonville, AR Sr. Strategy Project Manager, Logistics Walmart Bentonville, AR Senior Planner, Various Categories Walmart Bentonville, AR Replenishment Manager Walmart Bentonville, AR Distribution Center Area Director PetSmart Atlanta, GA Vice-President 24HourFitness.com 24 Hour Fitness San Ramon, CA Softlines Sourcing Manager Meijer Grand Rapids, MI Sr. Labor/Employment Attorney Meijer Grand Rapids, MI Product Development Foods Associate Meijer Grand Rapids, MI Senior Marketing Manager, Search Engine Optimization macys.com San Francisco, CA General Manager, Merchandise Smithsonian Enterprises Washington, DC Retail Manager Tri-County Feeds Marshall, VA   SmartQuote  The richer your friends, the more they will cost you." --Elisabeth Marbury, American theatrical and literary agent   This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers.data@blogger.com   Subscriber Tools       Update account information | Change e-mail address | Unsubscribe | Print friendly format | Web version | Search past news | Archive | Privacy policy Grab our News Widget Publish your Press Release   Advertise Associate Publisher:  Susan W. 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