To subscribe, click here. To return to list of past issues, click here. March 2009Oh No...It's the End of the World!
In recent weeks I've been reading about the economy, what's
going on in retail, and consumer behavior resulting from job
loss, declining confidence, and an unpredictable stock market.
One recurring conclusion from the various journalists is that
when this recession ends, consumer spending will never again be
the same.
A TOUGH ENVIRONMENT FOR MALLS!
2009 RETAILER OF THE YEAR!Congratulations to Virginia Keys, chairman and owner, and her daughter Lisa Keyes, president of Naturwood Furniture for this prestigious honor awarded by the Western Home Furnishings Association. Founded in 1946 by Walter Keyes, this two-store furniture business has grown and prospered under the family's leadership. Today mother and daughter preside over the flagship store, which at 87,000 square feet is the Sacramento, California area's largest furniture store, along with a smaller satellite store in nearby Roseville. CREATIVE MARKETING!
FRESH & EASY UPDATE!
We encourage you to pass this publication along to
your associates and colleagues. If all or any portion of this
newsletter is reproduced in another publication, attribution
should read as follows: Copyright 2009. Reprinted with
permission from George Whalin's Retail Management E-Letter. To occasionally reprint portions of this newsletter one time, no
express permission is required. To reprint in more than one venue or multiple articles,
please contact us at 800-766-1908 or info@whalinonretail.com. To subscribe, click here. To return to list of past issues, click here.
Home Page - Presentation Topics - Testimonials - Client List - For Meeting Planners
© 2009 Pilot Whalin Inc. |
Spending may be slower to take hold and it may take a different
form, but Americans like to live in nice homes and ultimately
will spend money to update, remodel, and redecorate. They take
pleasure in wearing fashionable apparel from the world's best
designers so they will once again look to the best stores for
new clothes. Americans enjoy traveling and part of the travel
experience is exploring unique stores in different parts of the
country and around the world. What it comes down to is Americans
love to shop in interesting, dynamic stores and in time will do
so again.
As retailers have struggled in this difficult economy so too
have mall owners. Among the largest mall companies is one that
finds itself a victim of its own decisions. As this is written
General Growth Properties is fighting to avoid bankruptcy while
it tries to renegotiate its staggering debt load of more than
$27 billion.
Fast food retailer Kentucky Fried Chicken has come up with an
inventive scheme to give back to the community and promote its
brand in the process. KFC recently sent a letter to mayors in
several U.S. cities offering to fix their potholes. The
completed pothole refilling would be topped off with the words
"Refreshed by KFC." With an estimated 350 million potholes in
the streets around the country, it would be quite a job. I'm
sure there will be those who won't like the idea, but it sounds
to me like a "groundbreaking" way to market the KFC brand.
When British retailer Tesco opened its first stores in the
United States, there were plenty of detractors and critics.
Owing to Tesco's size and savvy, I was fairly confident this
endeavor would succeed. Tesco has in fact made some mistakes
primarily misjudging the importance of the price/value equation
to American consumers. While prices at Fresh & Easy were pretty
good, initially there weren't enough lower priced items to
satisfy some consumers. Over the last few weeks, the company has
definitely moved to rectify the situation incorporating a broad
enough range of value priced merchandise to satisfy the most
cost conscious consumers.
George's presentations are always fast-paced, high-energy, and
entertaining. Best of all, George jam packs his programs with
real-world ideas and insights attendees can take back and put to
use right away to build their businesses, sell more merchandise,
and better serve today's savvy consumers.
