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Excerpt from a Multi-Page Magazine Insert
In Global Retailing, the Game’s the Same but the Rules Are Different
A six-pack of soda pop is considered “bulk packaging” in China. Register tapes in Switzerland must communicate in three languages. In most Scandinavian countries, Donald Duck is more popular than Mickey Mouse. These are just some of the subtle nuances that retailers are learning as they try taking their companies
global.
Excerpt from Consulting Firm’s Newsletter
Removing the Merchandise Mystique
Most retailers’ efforts to drive costs down and reengineer processes have been limited to “non-core” areas of the business, while core merchandising processes have remained “untouchable.” Why? One reason is that the merchandising function has developed a mystique about its inner workings. Several merchandising myths have developed, often shielding this core business area from the close scrutiny and change other areas
undergo.
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Excerpt from Consulting Firm’s Newsletter
Retailing in the Internet Age
The Internet has become an everyday part of life for tens of millions of people who use it to keep in touch with family, friends, and associates; to be entertained; to invest their savings; to follow the news; and to become informed on every topic under the sun. Hollywood’s first cyber-romance,
You’ve Got Mail, with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, has finished its first run. E-business, arguably the Internet’s most important application, is just getting off the ground and will accelerate the growth of cyberspace. The Internet, like the town square, brings customers and merchants together, but on a grander scale. Businesses want to be where customers are, and customers are attracted to marketplaces with lots of merchants.
Excerpt from Trade Magazine Article
Working Smarter in Labor Scheduling
Next to the cost of goods sold, labor is about the largest expense a retailer has. But managed properly, labor can also be the source of opportunity.
Retailers are enjoying numerous benefits from improved labor scheduling. Most importantly, customer service improves, because there is better matching of associates’ assignments with customer traffic. As a result, sales and productivity increase. Payroll control is another benefit, as the retailer can allocate payroll hours and dollars more effectively among areas and stores. And payroll costs can be reduced, as can the time spent preparing weekly
schedules.
Excerpt from Consulting Group’s Newsletter
Using ECR to Drive Down Supply Chain Costs
The time-starved consumer has become a very intelligent and demanding buyer of groceries and other consumer products. As a result, the food industry is experiencing tremendous change. For example:
- The line between supermarkets and restaurants is blurring
- Home delivery has re-emerged as a viable business with the advent of online capabilities
- Non-traditional competition, such as supercenters and convenience stores, is entering the business in a big way
- Many traditional businesses are completely transforming themselves
In the midst of all this change, the industry has made significant strides in implementing Efficient Consumer Response initiatives. Although the original vision remains a bit of a siren’s song, many retailers and suppliers have effectively used ECR technology to drive down supply chain costs.
Excerpt from Trade Magazine Article
Defining Your Customer Service Program
Customer service is often viewed as a process unique to the sales floor. But a high level of customer service on the sales floor in the twenty-first century will require increased linkages throughout the supply chain, from manufacturers through distribution to the store backroom to the selling floor. This kind of customer service program is imbedded in the culture of the company, is cross-functional, and drives company policy.
Establishing such a customer service program includes four key components:
Excerpt from Speech for Retail Chain Vice President
Managing Radical Change The topic of this discussion is managing radical change. You be the judge on whether our project at (Company) qualifies as "radical." In just about four years, we totally revamped our backroom operation, removed non-selling functions from our
sales floor, designed a new register, and installed 28,000 of them. We reconstructed 863 stores and installed 43 new systems. As a result, we removed 40 million work-hours from the stores.
If you'd consider those types of changes radical, then I guess I'm qualified to stand up here and tell you how we at (Company) managed radical change.
Excerpt from Survey Report
Profile of Who Will Shop Where
Discount/mass merchant and department stores continue to be the first and second choices of consumers for their holiday shopping. While consumers plan to spend most of their dollars at discounters/mass merchandisers, they show a marked increase over last year in shopping department stores. In a recent survey, a full 30 percent more consumers this year said the department store is their first choice for holiday shopping.
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