Mom and pop shops in India are giving retail giants Amazon and Walmart a run for their money. The family run stores have almost no wage or rent costs, so they can compete with the logistical prowess of the multinationals. Eric Bellman and Vibhuti Agarwal report on the battle for India's consumers in The Wall Street Journal: Tiny stores known as kiranas dot every Indian street, village and slum. Usually family-run, these micro-businesses range from street vendors selling vegetables to shops the size of a one-car garage. They pay low wages and have little or no rent, which helps keep costs … [Read more...]
Can Barnes & Noble Rediscover What Made it a Great Store?
Writing in The American Conservative, Gracy Olmstead laments the changes that have happened as Barnes & Noble fights for relevance. She suggests B&N emulate the changes at independent book stores, such as more book signings and readings, rather than the course B&N has chosen. She writes: But as it is, everything that Barnes & Noble does today is done as well or better by someone else. You could go to its café and get a Starbucks coffee and croissant—or you could go to the nearest indie coffee shop and get higher-quality versions of the same things. Nearly every café and coffee … [Read more...]
Kroger Gunning for Amazon
Kroger announced a deal with UK based online-grocer Ocado to build 20 customer fulfillment centers. Grocery stores remain largely a brick and mortar business in the U.S. with online sales only accounting for 1.5% of the total U.S. grocery market. But even if online grocery sales never surpass 10%, it still means a more than 6 fold increase in sales. The FT has more. But Americans are warming to grocery delivery. Walmart, the largest US grocer, reported a 33 per cent rise in online sales in its first quarter and said it was on track for a 40 per cent increase in the full year. Rodney … [Read more...]
Details, Details. Amazon Unveils 100 Million Prime Members
In a letter to shareholders, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled that the company has 100 million subscribers to its Prime membership service. Myles Udland reports at Yahoo Finance: After declining for years to disclose how many people pay for Amazon Prime, Amazon (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos revealed on Wednesday in his annual letter to shareholders that over 100 million people globally have joined Amazon’s membership club. “13 years post-launch, we have exceeded 100 million paid Prime members globally,” Bezos wrote. “In 2017 Amazon shipped more than five billion items with Prime worldwide, and … [Read more...]
Amazon Establishes Foothold in Big Box Retail with Best Buy Partnership
Amazon and Best Buy have announced a partnership that will combine the companies' efforts, integrating Amazon technology and reach and Best Buy's foot traffic to expand business for both. David Pierce reports on the combination at The Wall Street Journal: The two companies say they have been partners for years, and Amazon products such as Kindle e-readers have long been sold in Best Buy stores. But the new partnership brings potential benefits for both companies as sales of so-called smart TVs continue to climb. It provides Best Buy with access to Amazon’s online customers for the first … [Read more...]
How to Win in Retail? Unique Products
If a retailer is selling the same product lines as e-commerce giants Amazon.com and Walmart, it will be hard to compete. Unique product lines and a custom shopping experience seem to be the way for retailers to thrive in the post e-commerce world. One store that has been successful using these strategies is Crate & Barrel. The Wall Street Journal interviewed Crate & Barrel Chief Executive Neela Montgomery (Crate & Barrel is owned by Otto Group). Here's what she had to say about unique products. WSJ: Setting retail prices has become more complex. What is Crate and Barrel doing to … [Read more...]
Clicks-to-Bricks: Online Retailers Move into Prime Real Estate
While major brick and mortar chains like Walmart and Target are doing everything they can to boost their online sales, and Amazon.com is jumping into the world of big box retail by buying Whole Foods, smaller online retailers are stepping into a retail void that has opened up in some of the best territory on earth, Manhattan. Esther Fung reports in The Wall Street Journal that online retailers are being courted by the likes of the Feil Organization, a commercial real estate firm, and others like it that see e-commerce companies looking for ways to expand their on-the-ground operations. Fung … [Read more...]
Can Macy’s Make It?
After going through a troublesome period, markets rewarded Macy's yesterday thanks to some improvement in performance, and the company's offloading some assets deemed unneeded. Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette told the WSJ that “All boats are rising and everybody in retail right now is benefiting from strong consumer confidence." Consumer confidence is strong. As you can see on the chart below, consumer sentiment, as measure by the University of Michigan survey, is nearing its all-time highs. Americans seem to be responding positively to tax cuts and an economic picture that looks better than it has … [Read more...]
Are More Online Sales Actually Hurting Walmart?
Despite every retailer attempting to boost their online presence, it turns out that profitability for online sales is lower, and dependability may be too. Walmart recently suffered a bad quarter of earnings, in large part because of mismanaged online sales. In the fourth quarter sales grew 23%, down from over 50% in each of the previous three quarters. Investors weren't happy with the slow down. Sarah Nassauer reports: That wasn’t enough for investors. “This quarter did not live up to those high expectations,” said Simeon Gutman, a retail analyst for Morgan Stanley. Still, Mr. McMillon on … [Read more...]
Amazon Will Begin Deliveries from Whole Foods
Amazon is beginning to incorporate Whole Foods into its Prime Now delivery program. Prime Now offers one and two hour delivery options in certain cities. Laura Stevens reports for The Wall Street Journal that Amazon plans to expand its efforts. The online retail giant will add Whole Foods to its one- and two-hour delivery option, Prime Now, in the grocer’s hometown of Austin, Texas, as well as Dallas, Virginia Beach, Va. and Cincinnati, Ohio. Stephenie Landry, the Amazon vice president who oversees Prime Now, said it plans to expand the effort, but declined to say how quickly. She noted … [Read more...]
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