 | February 17, 2011 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
- NRF forecast: Retail sales to rise 4% this year
Retail sales are projected to rise 4% in 2011 as consumers increase spending a bit while hanging on to some of their recession-era caution amid concerns about high unemployment and rising prices, according to a forecast from NRF. The increase would outpace the 3.1% average annual increase of the last decade, but it's still below the 5% rate that would signal a strong economy. "Consumers will continue to be thoughtful about what they're spending, but they're certainly feeling better," said chief economist Jack Kleinhenz. The Seattle Times/The Associated Press (2/17), CNBC/Consumer Nation blog (2/17)        - Steve Madden takes a holistic approach to cross-channel retail
 Retail is part art and part science, says Steve Madden e-commerce and customer-experience chief Andrew Koven. In this interview ahead of NRF's Retail Marketing and Innovation Conference next month, Koven shares some of the lessons he's learned about customer service and talks about the mission of the company's multichannel Favorite Things campaign. "This campaign was our first attempt to connect all of the points of customer engagement together in an effort to inform and inspire our audience about products we felt very strongly about," he says. NRF Blog (2/17) - Old Navy cues up new music-focused effort
Old Navy has retired its two-year-old "Supermodelquins" campaign in favor of a new effort built around music. The campaign, from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, is meant to more closely match up with the retailer's core audience of 25-to-35-year-old women, many of whom are mothers. NYTimes.com/Media Decoder blog (2/17)  | |  | | | Take a closer look at consumer buying habits.
Today's consumers shop online, in traditional retail stores and by mobile phone. They demand cross-channel conveniences and seamless integration at every step. Download a FREE report from Sterling Commerce that provides detailed information on the latest consumer shopping preferences and attitudes. | |  | |  |
- Retailers take risks with less-pricey cotton substitutes
Manufacturers are scrambling to find synthetic alternatives to cotton as the price of the natural fiber continues to rise, but the practice comes with some risks for clothing brands trying to simultaneously protect their profits and reputations. The wrong choices by manufacturers may mean T-shirts that wear out sooner and pants that stretch after one washing, experts say. "I do think everyone is going to look at their options to re-engineer products. But anybody who has a great brand understands the risk associated with taking a hit to quality," said analyst Liz Pierce. The Sun (Baltimore)/Reuters (2/17)  | Stop Being Ripped-off Twice
Fraud is the #1 reason for chargebacks for card-not-present merchants. If your ecommerce site is experiencing high chargeback rates or if your organization is in an Excessive Chargeback Program with Visa or MasterCard, Kount can help...fast. Get your chargebacks under control in 60 days or less, or it's FREE. Click here | - Best Buy debuts photo-driven, price-comparison app
Best Buy has launched an application for iPhones and Android-based devices that lets consumers comparison shop by snapping photos of products. The app allows shoppers to compare product features as well as prices being offered by Best Buy competitors. TWICE (2/16)  | Faced with intense competition, retailers are looking for the strategies that will bring them to the forefront for the long term. Retailers are re-evaluating and revamping their technology strategies. This white paper will discuss two key strategies designed to help retailers reimagine growth including focusing on international expansion and scaling customer-centric business processes. |
 | Main Street |  | | | - Your business is only as valuable as your management team
When it comes time to sell your business, the quality of your management team will be a top concern for most buyers, who want to know things can run smoothly without you, Jack DiFranco writes. You won't get "walk-away money" until the transition is complete, so unless you plan to stick around and work for someone else, start early on cultivating a self-sustaining team, DiFranco advises. Fox Business (2/16) - How to fatten up your e-mail list
Most e-mail lists have a 30% annual churn rate, so you have to keep adding names or you'll lose ground, Monika Jansen writes. Make it easy for people to opt in with links on every page of your website, in your e-mail signature and on all printed materials. Ask customers at checkout if they'd like to join your mailing list, and offer discounts, free shipping or other incentives to make it worth their while. GrowSmartBusiness.com (2/16) | Policy & Government Affairs | | | | - FEMA reaches out to retail industry for disaster planning
Retail companies have been heralded for helping after Hurricane Katrina and other recent natural disasters, a trend that has convinced the Federal Emergency Management Agency to work with the private sector. FEMA took an unprecedented step this year with a program that brings private-sector executives into the agency's response coordination center for three-month stints. "I really feel like we have the pipeline in now to FEMA. Over the past year, they have taken a fresh approach," said NRF's Joe LaRocca. The Washington Post (2/16) - Retailers ready to defend credit card law on Capitol Hill
Banks and financial firms plan to urge lawmakers at a congressional hearing today to delay Federal Reserve rules to limit the amount of swipe fees they can charge merchants on debit-card transactions, saying the law passed last year requires further study. Retailers are marshaling a defense of the law they supported, saying the companies have vastly increased fees in recent years, which hit consumers and small businesses the hardest. The Wall Street Journal (2/16)
| NRF News | | | | - NRF forecasts retail sales increase of 4% for 2011
On the heels of seven consecutive months of retail sales growth, NRF's economic forecast for 2011 shows retail industry sales will increase 4% over 2010. NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay commented, "With retailers leading the charge, the economic recovery appears to be gaining some steam." As part of the forecast, NRF has also released the latest Retail Sales Outlook, a quarterly report free to NRF members. Read more. - NRF SmartStat: Feb. 17, 2011
 More than three-quarters of retailers use fan pages on Facebook, compared with 66% last year. Source: Retail Horizons 2011 - Delaying swipe fee reform could cost merchants and customers $1 billion per month
The card industry's push for postponement of debit card swipe fee reform could cost retailers and their customers more than $1 billion per month, according to NRF. "Now that reform is about to go into effect, the card industry is asking for a do-over they don't deserve," NRF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mallory Duncan said as the House held a hearing on the issue. "We would rather use the savings to cut prices, provide more retail workers with health insurance or put more Americans to work." Read more.
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - Subway openings in 2010 have chain on track to hit 34,000
Subway opened a total of 2,147 new units around the globe last year, including 559 nontraditional locations such as college campuses, airports, a car dealership in California and a German riverboat. The world's largest sandwich chain ended the year with 33,959 stores and about 17,000 franchisees worldwide. QSRWeb.com (2/16)  | |  | | The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
 | | | Interested in learning more about advertising in NRF SmartBrief? Contact Susan W. Kim at (202) 407-7877 or skim@smartbrief.com.  | | |  | |  |
| Career Track | | | |  | |  | | | | |  |  Merchandise Planning and Inventory Management Senior Manager | Kurt Salmon | Multiple Locations, United States | | Product Development and Sourcing Senior Manager | Kurt Salmon | Multiple Locations, United States | | Vice President - Divisional Merchandise Manager | The Vitamin Shoppe | North Bergen, NJ | | VP MS, SOFTLINES DIV | AAFES | Dallas, TX | | District Sales Manager- Texas & Oklahoma Market | Lakeshore Learning Materials | Houston, TX | | BUSINESS PLANNING BRANCH MANAGER | AAFES | Dallas, TX | | SR IT AUDIT ANALYST | AAFES | Dallas, TX | | Associate Creative Director: In-home Communications | PetSmart | Phoenix, AZ | | Director of Merchandising | Lakeshore Learning Materials | Carson, CA | | Project Manager, Multi-Channel POS | Sports Authority | Englewood, CO | | Women's Buyer/Category Manager | Meijer | Grand Rapids, MI | | Vice President, Sterling | Sterling Shoes Inc. | VANCOUVER, Canada | | Buyer (Consumer Electronics) | Purchasing Power | atlanta, GA | | VP of Marketing | Teavana | Atlanta - Buckhead, GA | | Senior Vice President, Communities & Networks and Executive Director, Shop.org | National Retail Federation | Washington, DC | | Multi-Channel Strategy Sr. Manager | Deloitte Consulting LLP | Nationwide, United States | | | |  | |  |
| SmartQuote | | | |  | Our lives, hopes and dreams depend on our ability to be heard."
--James Bernard,
American writer and editor  |
| | This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers.data@blogger.com
| | | | | | | | | Recent NRF SmartBrief Issues: - Wednesday, February 16, 2011
- Tuesday, February 15, 2011
- Monday, February 14, 2011
- Friday, February 11, 2011
- Thursday, February 10, 2011
| | | 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 |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please comment thoughtfully CPG Brokers, your best resource to optimize your in store self exposure and maximize sku distribution.