 | December 7, 2010 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
- Best Buy shifts to earlier holiday opening time
Best Buy plans to open its doors an hour earlier each day between now and Christmas, as part of the consumer-electronics chain's efforts to ring up higher holiday sales. The retailer also has expanded its free cell phone deals, formerly offered only on Fridays, and has increased the number of items that qualify for no-interest financing. USA TODAY/The Associated Press (12/4)       - Consumers return to self-gifting
Pent-up demand, a plethora of bargains and a slightly less cautious outlook are combining to encourage more consumers to spend on themselves this season, according to a National Retail Federation survey. Shoppers began cutting back on self-gifting when the recession began in 2007, after several years of steadily increasing their personal purchases. The Washington Post (12/6)  | Using Social Data: Does Your Business Know the Rules?
Learn what it takes to create a positive experience for both your users and your business.
Download a free whitepaper now. | - Borders investor pushes Barnes & Noble acquisition
Borders investor William Ackman is pushing the bookstore chain to make a bid for Barnes & Noble by offering to fund a $960 million cash deal. Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management owns a 37.3% stake in Borders. Barnes & Noble, which put itself up for sale this year, has invested heavily in e-book technology to gain ground against digital-content sellers including Amazon and Google. The Wall Street Journal (12/7) - Price trumps data, says Food Lion founder
 Food Lion founder Ralph Ketner, now 90, says cost is still the most important consideration for shoppers, and if he were still in charge he wouldn't invest in loyalty cards or other efforts to learn more about customers. "I don't need to know what color shirt they were wearing or how much cereal and what brand they bought. All I want to know is they bought it at Food Lion," said Ketner, who retired in the early 1990s. The Charlotte Observer (N.C.) (12/5) - Grocery entrepreneur builds unexpected organic empire
Scott Nash says he never planned to be a grocery magnate. After dropping out of college, he made ends meet with a job at a wholesaler of organic foods, back when the concept was still "far outside of the mainstream," he says. Eventually he struck out on his own, offering home delivery of organic produce in the Washington, D.C., area and grossing $100,000 his first year in business. As interest grew, he opened his first tiny retail location, although he struggled to meet payroll until a competitor closed its doors. Over the next 20 years, Nash built MOM's Organic Market into a six-store chain with $50 million in sales and 350 employees. The Washington Post (12/5)  | Today's leading technologies provide new ways to solve old problems. See Joshua Jewett, SVP and CIO at Family Dollar discuss "Delivering Business Impact with SaaS." This NRFtech presentation describes how SaaS is a new tool in the IT arsenal and how Family Dollar quickly deployed an SaaS based inventory solution to drive significant results. | - Survey: Shoppers prefer to consult gadgets instead of store staff
The vast majority of shoppers surveyed recently by Accenture said they would rather use their smartphones than ask a store associate when checking product availability and seeking other store and product information. "Ultimately, this trend will lead to a new definition of the store; purpose, place and size are all up for debate. Already we are seeing some shoppers treating stores more like a showroom to test products and then making their purchase online," said Janet Hoffman, managing director of Accenture's retail practice. InternetRetailer.com (12/6)  | Too much number crunching, too little decision-making? Are you spending 10 or 20 hours a week manipulating data instead of using it to make decisions? Do your Monday morning meetings consist of arguing about the numbers rather than taking action on them? Fix it. Sign up for our webinar now, Excel Addiction: Bringing Retail's Habit Under Control. | - Google's digital bookstore makes its debut
Google unveiled its long-awaited e-bookstore on Monday, offering hundreds of thousands of digital titles for sale and millions more free of charge as it gears up to compete head-on with Amazon and Apple for a piece of the $1 billion e-books market. Consumers can read digital titles from Google eBooks on computers, iPads and other devices and switch from one gadget to another without losing their place. The Wall Street Journal (12/6)  | Most retailers are now realizing the impact of effective inventory management on their bottom line. Inventory management is the number-one supply chain initiative current and planned, according to a study by the National Retail Federation. Learn more about intelligent inventory management solutions that predict the best mix for long term success. |
 | Main Street |  | | | - How giving to others can help you get more customers
Charitable giving can be a great way for small businesses to support their community and score some positive marketing in the process -- if they can afford it, experts say. "I like to support a lot of nonprofits, but my goal is not to become one myself, so I have to be careful," said one small-business owner. This article gives tips on how to give wisely and how to get the most out of your charitable support. Los Angeles Times (12/5) | Policy & Government Affairs | | | |  | |  | | The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
The Battle of Atlanta: How Publix has Outperformed Kroger and Wal-Mart. The latest edition of The Shelby Report estimates that Publix has overtaken Kroger and Wal-Mart as the No. 1 grocer in the Atlanta market. Read more about how Publix is testing a number of innovative offerings, including curbside pickup, to build on its lead.
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| NRF News | | | | - Bipartisan announcement of tax cuts, unemployment benefit extensions welcomed by NRF
NRF welcomed yesterday's bipartisan announcement to extend Bush-era tax cuts for all taxpayers regardless of income as well as extend unemployment benefit. "Keeping current tax rates in place will allow retailers and other sectors of the economy to push forward with job creation," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. "Adding a payroll tax cut to the mix will help with that effort while boosting consumer spending as well." Read more. - Wal-Mart joins DHS on "See Something, Say Something" campaign
In a partnership announced yesterday, Wal-Mart is the first retail partner to sign on for a DHS public awareness campaign aimed at encouraging shoppers to report suspicious activity. Beginning this week, more than 230 Wal-Mart stores will play a message from DHS Secretary Napolitano at select checkout lanes as the "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign officially ramps up. Read more.
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - DineEquity to sell 30 D.C.-area Applebee's restaurants
DineEquity has agreed to sell 30 Applebee's restaurants in the Washington, D.C., market to Potomac Family Dining Group, in a deal slated to net DineEquity about $27 million when it closes next year. DineEquity, which also owns IHOP, has sold 193 Applebee's locations since it acquired the chain three years ago. Los Angeles Business Journal (free registration) (12/6) | Career Track | | | |
 | |  | | | | | | |  |  Director, Guest Services | Spencer Gifts/Spirit Halloween/ToyZam! | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | Manager, Web Merchandising Intelligence | Kohl's Corporate Offices | Menomonee Falls, WI | | Director of Marketing and Licensing | Spencer Gifts | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | Merchandise Planner | Kohl's Corporate Offices | Milwaukee, WI | | VP of Marketing | Teavana | Atlanta - Buckhead, GA | | Planogram Specialist (Temporary not to exceed 2 Years) | Headquarters Marine Corps/ Marine Corps Exchange | Quantico, VA | | Regional Manager Development Program | Follett Higher Education Group | Multiple Locations, United States | | Retail Construction Project Manager | Teavana | Atlanta, GA | | Director of Field Construction | Rent-A-Center | Plano, TX | | Manager, Home Office Human Resources (Recruitment & Employee Relations) | Follett Higher Education Group | Oak Brook, IL | | Assistant Category Manager - Reader's Market | Sears | Hoffman Estates, IL | | Business Process Analyst | QVC | West Chester, PA | | Legal Counsel | Kohl's | Menomonee Falls, WI | | Branch Head/Field Operations (Marine Corps Exchanges) | Headquarters/MCCS | Quantico Marine Corps Base, VA | | | |  | |  | |
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70.1 million people plan to shop online at work some point this holiday season. Source: 
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