Amid increasing competition from companies like Aldi, and the potential for more from Whole Foods/Amazon, Wal-Mart is expanding its online grocery delivery service to Dallas and Orlando. Wal-Mart is finding success in online grocery sales, as those who shop online tend to spend more. This mirrors recent success Wal-Mart has been finding on its e-commerce properties. At Bloomberg, Matthew Boyle explains Wal-Mart's push for expanded grocery delivery: The move is the latest step in Wal-Mart’s broader e-commerce push, which includes curbside grocery pickup in more than 900 locations and … [Read more...]
Is 2017 the End for Independent Grocers?
A number of headwinds are slamming into independent grocers, including competition from Amazon, a proliferation of "Dollar Store"-type discount retailers, and increased cost cutting by major grocery chains. Independent stores and small regional chains are getting eaten up by acquisitions from larger names, or just going out of business. Heather Haddon and Lillian Rizzo write: Bankers who handle food-retail deals say the squeeze is creating more acquisition opportunities for big grocers, particularly as smaller family run companies face an older generation of leaders stepping back. “The … [Read more...]
Is Wal-Mart Ready to Compete with Amazon Online?
A surge in e-commerce sales boosted Wal-Mart last quarter. After aquiring Jet.com, Bonobos.com, and beefing up Walmart.com, Wal-Mart is beginning to get some traction in online retail. Sarah Nassauer and Austen Hufford report: The strong sales figures come at a time of stiff competition among retailers facing Amazon.com Inc. While U.S. consumer spending appears strong, according to July sales data at retailers and restaurants released Tuesday, some apparel and department-store chains are struggling with customers’ changing shopping habits. U.S. grocers, of which Wal-Mart is the largest by … [Read more...]
Amazon is Killing Malls, Here’s How They’re Fighting Back
America's malls are dying. Malls built around antiquated big box retailers are fighting for their lives. The big retail stores are having their lunch eaten by Amazon.com. For malls looking to reinvent themselves, experiences matter. Malls offering movie theaters, gyms, arcades, and better dining options are finding more success. AFP reports: Yet mall developers dismiss talk of their demise despite today's retail industry travails. "I will tell you, it's not a very fun environment," David Simon, chief executive of the real estate investment trust Simon Property Group, said recently … [Read more...]
These Manufacturers are Avoiding Amazon
It turns out, being part of the largest e-commerce retail operation in America isn't something every manufacturer wants. Manufacturers looking to protect their local sellers and their brand images are trying everything to differentiate their products and to keep them off of Amazon.com. Ruth Simon reports at The Wall Street Journal that brands are using technology, exclusivity, and price controls to prevent Amazon from controlling all of their business. Some manufacturers are enforcing minimum advertised prices to make it harder for online sellers to undercut local merchants, while others give … [Read more...]
An Online Resurrection for Beaten Brick and Mortar Brands
Clothing retail brands with long histories in America's shopping malls have been under attack for a few years now. Stores like Wet Seal, American Apparel, The Limited and others have been pushed out of their shopping mall sanctums by bankruptcy and liquidation. Now companies that handle online orders are making it easy for these brands to rise again as online only stores. The Wall Street Journal reports: Investors snapped up Wet Seal, American Apparel and The Limited, betting fickle consumers who long ago stopped visiting their shops would flock to new online-only storefronts. Companies … [Read more...]
Is There a Defense Against My ‘Bezos Law’?
If you're a regular reader, you are familiar with my Bezos Law. The law states that for every industry Jeff Bezos enters, costs go down. Now a Morgan Stanley analyst named Brian Nowak has outlined what it takes to protect a business from the type of disruption caused by the Bezos Law. Nowak theorizes that a set of factors he calls BRIAN, can protect a business from being overtaken and disrupted by Amazon. The factors are listed here by Business Insider: Bespoke products that are unique and require lots of customization. Examples of industries include luxury goods and intimates. Morgan … [Read more...]
Are these Iconic Food Brands Dying?
Here Money explains the impact the trend toward private label is having on some iconic American food brands. Brands that were once household staples are falling out of favor with consumers. One reason is a broad shift away from national brands—shoppers have increasingly shown a willingness to eschew them in favor of lower-price private labels like Kirkland at Costco, Great Value at Walmart, and nearly everything sold at Aldi. Analysts say that one of the impacts of Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods is that there will be even more pressure on national food brands, as the supermarket is … [Read more...]
Can Competitors Use Robots to Beat Amazon’s Logistical Dominance?
In 2012, Amazon recognized the value of a robot producing company known as Kiva Systems. The robots became a centerpiece of Amazon's logistical system, toting shelves of goods from the warehouse floor to lines of humans who would pick out the right items and send the robots back again. Now Amazon's competitors in retail will get their chance to catch up. Some of the same team of roboticists who worked for Kiva Systems is back with a new invention known as the Chuck. The new robot cart helps warehouse workers by carrying many items, and leading the humans around the warehouse to the … [Read more...]
Are Retail Stocks at an Inflection Point?
Amazon-Mania has taken over the stock market. Every mention or speculation that Amazon is going to enter a sector of the retail market drives the share prices of every company in that market lower. Can Amazon really do it all? That seems to be what many investors are assuming, but what the crowd knows is usually baked into share prices. Here, MarketWatch asks if the ultra-bearish sentiment toward brick and mortar retail has reached an inflection point? “After a two-year, ~24% bear market in the SPDR S&P Retail ETF XRT, -0.57% , someone is finally creating a way to get short the … [Read more...]