News

By Stephen Wyss

As retailers eye avenues for growth in 2012, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) will be a key area of interest and activity.

A shift in consumer payment habits has had a noticeable impact on merchants that process a large volume of low-value transactions. Credit cards, historically associated with payment for higher-priced items that required financing, have become a preferred payment method for routine purchases that once were covered by pocket change.

Video surveillance is undergoing a major change as analog systems are replaced with high-definition, high-megapixel cameras and NVRs (network video recorders). Chain Store Age spoke with Keith Marett, VP marketing and communications for Avigilon, a leader in high-definition (HD) and megapixel video surveillance systems, about the shift from analog to digital systems.

What are the latest trends in video surveillance?

Omni-channel, seamless customer experience, empowered consumers and mobile commerce were among the buzzwords at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & EXPO in New York City. The show attracted a record 25,000 retail executives, suppliers and consultants, the most in its 101-year history. Reflecting the global nature of retail, there were some 5,500 international participants from 78 countries.

A shopping center owner and manager is on the cutting edge of mobile marketing. DDR Corp., which owns and manages 538 value-oriented shopping centers in the United States, Puerto Rico and Brazil, is testing a service in select properties that combines physical retail assets with location-based mobile marketing.

Retailers should expect online purchases to become a bigger piece of retail sales, particularly in the key fourth-quarter period, where they could soon represent as much as 20% of holiday sales, according to Sucharita Mulpuru, VP and principal analyst, Forrester Research, and a leading expert on e-commerce and trends in the online shopping space.

“The pie for bricks-and-mortar retail is shrinking,” Mulpuru said during a presentation at the National Retail Federation’s 101st Annual Convention & EXPO in New York City.

By HeeSun Kim and Young Rok Park

Imagine a place where department stores are destinations for retail and social activity, where the mere mention of the term “department store” still conjures fond memories of day-long family outings in the city. Fifty years ago, this could have been any major city in the United States, but the current epicenter of the design revolution in large-format retail, culture and fashion is on the opposite side of the planet, specifically in Seoul, South Korea.

After 30 years in the drug store sector, Michael Bloom left CVS Caremark in September 2011 to become president and COO of Family Dollar Stores. The extreme-value chain has adopted an aggressive growth strategy in recent years, and plans to open 450 to 500 stores in 2012.

Family Dollar is equally committed to improving existing locations. Under its ambitious store-reinvention program, an estimated 1,000 locations are scheduled to be renovated, relocated or expanded this year.

How much is a brand worth? If the brand in question happens to be Walmart, the answer is an eye-popping $139 billion, according to Interbrand Design Forum’s ranking of the top 50 U.S. retail brands by brand value. The study calculates the financial net worth of retail brands based on three metrics: the brand’s financial performance, the role the brand plays in driving consumer selection, and the ability of the brand to secure the delivery of expected future earnings.

A phenomenon that continues to boggle my mind and, in many cases impress me, is how the Texas economy continues to flourish. Even in the midst of the recent economic downturn that left few retail markets untouched, the Lone Star State remained one of the few bright spots in a recessionary sky.