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| Global retail industry news |  |
- Target reaches logo agreement with Canadian company
Target and Canadian discount retailer Isaac Benitah have reached an agreement to end a dispute over use of the company's logo in Canada, ahead of Target's planned 2013 opening of its first stores in the country. Under the deal, Benitah's 15-store Target Apparel chain will stop using a similar logo. The Wall Street Journal (01 Feb.)      - Esprit to shutter all stores in North America
Hong Kong-based apparel retailer Esprit has failed to find a buyer for its North American division, which lost about $206 million during the past four years. The company now plans to close all 93 of the division's stores and file either a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US or the equivalent proceeding in Canada. Bloomberg Businessweek (01 Feb.)  | Top 5 HR Compliance Concerns for Small Business
Small and medium sized companies spend a lot of time focusing on core business issues, but they may overlook one of the most potentially serious and costly issues — regulatory compliance. How do you know what issues to look for in order to protect the company? Download this must-read paper that discusses the top 5 HR compliance issues. |
 - Retail guru calls for reinvention of UK's high streets
Phil Wrigley, the former chairman of fashion retail chain New Look and current chairman of Majestic Wine, says the UK's high streets are in serious trouble and recommends transforming many of the vacant storefronts into residential space. "If people returned to town centres, as residents not visitors, the effects could be far-reaching." The Independent (London) (02 Feb.)  | Costs are rising in China and Japan, prompting high-tech firms across Asia to consider new sourcing locations so they can remain efficient, while focusing more on service. What will be the impact of this behavioral shift? Learn about the findings in this free white paper. |
 - Chinese coffee fans protest Starbucks' higher prices
Coffee fans in China took to the web to voice complaints after Starbucks announced price increases on all its coffee drinks this week, illustrating how passionately Chinese consumers have embraced their cups of joe. Starbucks, which operates 550 stores in China and plans to have 1,500 by 2015, said the price increases were needed in the face of rising costs for labor, commodities and real estate. The Wall Street Journal (01 Feb.) - Amazon launches shopping site in India
Amazon launched Junglee.com this week, its first online retail site in India. The site features 12 million products from 14,000 brands, offered by Amazon as well as its network of third-party sellers. Reuters (02 Feb.)  | Retailers use video surveillance as a valuable tool to combat shrinkage, which can account for more than 2% of retail sales for some U.S. organizations. Shrink is up 6.6% in 2011 over 2010. This 6-page whitepaper from 3VR gives real examples on how retailers are increasing sales with video surveillance & analytics. Download it free today. |
 | E-commerce Spotlight |  |  | | - UK has the largest group of online shoppers, data show
About 60% of British consumers shop online for food, clothing and other goods, a larger percentage than any other country in the developed world, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The average for all OECD member countries is 30%, and Mexico has the smallest group with fewer than 5% of residents shopping online. The Telegraph (London) (01 Feb.) - Alibaba establishes environmental protection foundation
China's largest e-commerce player has created a foundation aimed at supporting the country's developing environmental protection organizations. Alibaba Group and its subsidiaries launched the effort with an initial donation of 50 million yuan and plans to also provide natural-disaster relief and aid to the poor and disabled. China Daily (Beijing) (02 Feb.) | Spotlight on Consumer Electronics | | | | - Dick Smith founder would fight sale to foreign company: Dick Smith vowed this week to fight if Woolworths opts to sell the consumer electronics chain to a foreign company. "I'm a proud Australian and this is just continuing where all the wealth is going overseas and damaging our country." The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (31 Jan.)
- 2 South Korean retailers consider Hi-Mart bids
South Korean retail chains Shinsegae and Lotte Group reportedly might bid to acquire a controlling stake in consumer electronics chain Hi-Mart. The combined 57.6% ownership stake in the chain, which operates 301 stores, would be worth about $890 million. Reuters (01 Feb.) | NRF News | | | | - How collaborative localization can increase sales
Retailers and manufacturers are consistently looking for ways to drive better results out of their interaction with consumers, which frequently are taking the form of localized assortments. In a Feb. 9 STORES Knowledge series webinar, Bob Rossman, vice president of market development for Agentrics, will share tips for maintaining a strong, collaborative relationship between buyers and suppliers and how to manage product mix and availability to increase sales. Read more.
| SmartQuote | | | |  | Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over."
--F. Scott Fitzgerald,
American author  |
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