Monthly Archives: April 2009

New Markets, New Money, New Shoppers

By editor | April 30, 2009

The weakening dollar and retreating US consumers makes international markets appear much more attractive for retailers and manufacturers who were previously skeptical about launching operations overseas. The Wall Street Journal reports that Boston Consulting Group’s analysis of world wide consumer behavior supports the inclination to test international waters even in this economy.
Their survey of consumers in China [...]

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Microsoft Helps Retailers Connect with the PC Shopper

By editor | April 29, 2009

Customer Retail Experience reported that Microsoft has opened a Retail Experience Center aimed at providing retailers with tools to better sell product and connect with the Microsoft customer.
Located at Microsoft’s Corp.’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, the Microsoft Retail Experience Center is a private, 20,000-square foot facility housing a fully functioning, interactive store environment, from point [...]

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Add ‘m-commerce’ to Your Retail Lexicon; Japan Leading the Way

By editor | April 27, 2009

M-commerce, or mobile commerce, began exploding in Japan before Americans were even getting web-enabled cell phones. Way ahead of the curve on connecting the Internet and the in-store experience, WGSN reports that Japanese retailers are earning as much as one quarter of their sales via cell phone purchases.
WGSN surveyed some of Japan’s leading retailers and [...]

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Private Label Accounts for 30% of Pantry

By editor | April 22, 2009

Ad Age’s Emily York reports that private label gains are not attributable to the recession and, in fact, private label was on the rise before the economy’s sonic boom.
However, whether the rise started before or after the crisis was declared, the fact remains that private label is infringing on the positioning of package food companies.  “When [...]

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The Brand IS the Store

By editor | April 16, 2009

Domenico De Sole is the chairman of Tom Ford International, the famous menswear brand. But De Sole is most well known as former CEO of Gucci. He led the turnaround of Gucci, which was struggling under the pressure of poor management and a failing brand. In an interview for Knowledge@Wharton, De Sole discusses how the economy is affecting luxury [...]

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