North America – Page 19
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News
Kmart launches money-off initiative for the unemployed
Kmart has launched a money-off initiative for the unemployed in its original home state of Michigan.The general merchandiser’s Smart Assist Savings Scheme entitles the jobless to discounts of 20 per cent on own-label basics such as baby products, groceries and toilet roll.Shoppers registered as unemployed are entitled to discount cards ...
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News
Wal-Mart customers to vote on what products are stocked
Wal-Mart customers will be able to vote on what products the retail giant stocks as part of a new initiative due to launch in the autumn.Shoppers will be able to vote on non-perishables in an effort to empower customers and ensure it stocks the right products. The customers to vote ...
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NewsMysears.com: Sears adopts OpenID platform
US retail giant Sears has adopted the OpenID platform to more closely connect the social networking sites it runs for its Sears and Kmart chains with sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.
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GalleryStore of the week: Michael Kors, New Bond Street
American fashion brand and retailer Michael Kors has dipped its toe in the distinctly chilly waters of standalone stores with the opening of its first UK shop, in a unit on New Bond Street.
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News
Sobeys reveals net profit hike
Grocer Sobeys has revealed a net profit hike of 21.1 per cent to C$226m (£118m) in the year to May 2.Like-for-like sales increased 5.2 per cent while total sales climbed 7.2 per cent to C$14.76bn (£7.7bn) as a result of new stores and extensions, as well as sales and ...
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News
Meijer to test a smaller format grocers in Chicago suburb
Meijer is to test a smaller format grocery-focused shop in the Chicago suburb of Niles.The 102,000 sq ft shop is about half the size of most Meijer supercentres and will open in the first quarter of 2010. Alongside grocery, it will also have a pharmacy and some general merchandise. The ...
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News
Brian Dunn officially takes up Best Buy chief executive role
Brian Dunn has officially taken up the position of chief executive of Best Buy. Dunn, a 24-year veteran of the consumer electronics retailer, had been the president and chief operating officer. He succeeds Brad Anderson, who served as Best Buy’s vice-chairman and chief executive for seven years.Dunn joined Best Buy ...
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NewsTesco refutes global trade union claims
Tesco has refuted claims from an international trade union which criticised the grocer’s employment practices in some of its overseas markets.
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NewsTesco brings touch of Britain to Fresh & Easy
Tesco has introduced some classic British favourites such as Marmite and Heinz baked beans at selected Fresh & Easy stores in the US.
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News
Barnes & Noble scales back its expansion plans
Bookseller Barnes & Noble has scaled back its expansion plans in the recession. America’s largest book chain by sales had planned to open 35 superstores this year, but now has only 15 in the pipeline. Most of these are replacing existing branches that have closed or are being relocated.Barnes & ...
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News
Petsmart appoints its president to chief executive role
Pets products retailer Petsmart has appointed its president and chief operating officer Bob Moran to the role of chief executive.Moran replaces Phil Francis, who will remain chairman and relinquish day-to-day control of the retailer. Francis will take on the more advisory role of executive chairman.Petsmart, which operates around 1,100 stores ...
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News
Neiman Marcus considers selling lower-priced goods
US Luxury department store chain Neiman Marcus will consider selling some lower-priced goods after sales plunged 24 per cent year on year in its third quarter.Although Neiman Marcus will not abandon higher-priced products, it said it would merchandise goods with a greater range of price points.Chief executive Burt Tansky told ...
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News
US DIY spending ‘lowest in 60 years’
US DIY spending as a percentage of America’s GDP is at its lowest in 60 years, Home Depot boss Frank Blake said.However, the retailer expects a smaller fall in annual earnings than previously feared. Originally a decline of 7 per cent was forecast but it is now expected to be ...
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News
Court orders Amazon to pay Toys R Us £31m
Amazon has been ordered by an American court to pay $51m (£31.2m) to Toys R Us after the e-tail giant terminated an exclusive distribution deal in 2004.The partnership was due to last until 2010, with the toy retailer agreed as Amazon’s sole supplier of toys, games and baby goods.The fine ...
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News
Wal-Mart will not “accelerate” Marketside openings
Wal-Mart will not “accelerate” openings of Marketside, the store format developed in response to Tesco’s Fresh & Easy US chain.Wal-Mart Stores vice-chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright said: “The test we’ve had in Phoenix, we’re pleased with. Given the current economic conditions we are not accelerating the effort until we have better data ...
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News
Same-store sales in US decline
Same-store sales declined 4.6 per cent in the US in May, according to a report from Goldman Sachs and the International Council of Shopping Centers. The results were worse than a forecast 3 per cent drop.Among a slew of disappointing like-for-likes, department store group Nordstrom reported a fall of more ...
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News
Aggressive Ackman falls flat after failed Target coup
The latest boardroom battle that William Ackman, head of US hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, has waged has ended in tears – literally, according to US reports.
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AnalysisNew Wal-Mart chief Mike Duke: ‘This is our time’
Changing consumer habits create opportunities, new Wal-Mart chief Mike Duke believes – but the retailer can’t afford to be complacent. George MacDonald reports from the US
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News
Target shareholders reject alternative director list
Shareholders in general merchandise retail powerhouse Target last week rejected an alternative list of directors put up by activist shareholder William Ackman.In a heated battle, Ackman, the head of Pershing Square Capital Management, sought to have his own roster of directors, including himself, replace the existing board to better compete ...
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News
Profits at Office Depot’s North American retail division decline
Operating profits at Office Depot’s North American retail division declined from $82m (£50m) to $81m ($49.4m) in the first quarter to March 28. Like-for-likes plummeted 17 per cent while total sales slumped 16 per cent to $1.4bn (£854.4m).The company, which includes a business solutions arm, reported a net loss of ...