An opinion.
A generic heading for a business that affects the economy, and each of us, individually. At this time of the year, one of the highest interest news items.
Today's lead news item covers an article about employee reactions to last month's "urgent agenda", quoted here:
Here's the article about employee reactions... much more than just the food market part:
Walmart workers react to New York Times expose on understaffing » peoplesworld
From my own experience, this points up the maxim that "The only totally controllable factor for retail profits, is payroll."
I suggest that this Christmas Season could see the greatest change, ever, in what we have come to see as "normal", in our shopping habits. Not just on-line shopping, but:
Malls
Store inventories
Warehousing
Personnel/Payroll
Accounting
Store size
Premium on "convenience"
Trucking/transportation
Downtowns
The transition is taking place already, with malls that are emptying, tighter inventories and the landslide change from full-time to part time employment. Driving the changes... profitability, a no-brainer but the problem exacerbated by the years of a slow moving economy and reaching a point where the economies of scale, the advances in tech, and the irreducible labor costs, defy the hoped-for recovery. A point of no return for the kid of retailing we've grown used to.
Until now, the saving factors have been through a switch to up scale, hi margin goods, and of course, in the food industry... to the specialty food (gluten free, diet, and organic) large scale introduction. The continued softening in the economy is squeezing middle ground. The change in profitability from "mall type" specialty stores, to Dollar Stores reflects the widening gap between high and low end markets.
You may see this as a normal continuum of the same kind of change that we see in every industry. To an extent, this is certainly true, but retailing as we know it today, plays a large part in our social lives, as well as other major 'things" that come out of this: shopping travel, advertising, impulse buying.
Not just the difference between on-line and in-store, but the future of the retail business as it may be five years from now.
Open end for thoughts on any part of the subject.
A generic heading for a business that affects the economy, and each of us, individually. At this time of the year, one of the highest interest news items.
Today's lead news item covers an article about employee reactions to last month's "urgent agenda", quoted here:
Last month, the retailer issued an “urgent agenda” memo to managers across the country pushing them to improve performance on “Chilled and Fresh” items in its dairy, meat and produce departments, part of an effort by Walmart to stem long-sluggish sales. It also reflected customer complaints that Walmart has received in recent years as it has expanded offerings of organic foods and produce, often at cheaper prices than its competitors.
The memo, marked “highly sensitive,” tells Walmart marketing managers to make sure that the company’s 4,965 United States stores discount aging meat and baked goods to maximize the chance that those items will sell before their expiration dates. The memo — leaked for public use by a Walmart manager unhappy about understaffing — also tells stores to be sure to “rotate” dairy products and eggs, which means removing expired items and adding new stock at the bottom and back of display cases.
Here's the article about employee reactions... much more than just the food market part:
Walmart workers react to New York Times expose on understaffing » peoplesworld
From my own experience, this points up the maxim that "The only totally controllable factor for retail profits, is payroll."
I suggest that this Christmas Season could see the greatest change, ever, in what we have come to see as "normal", in our shopping habits. Not just on-line shopping, but:
Malls
Store inventories
Warehousing
Personnel/Payroll
Accounting
Store size
Premium on "convenience"
Trucking/transportation
Downtowns
The transition is taking place already, with malls that are emptying, tighter inventories and the landslide change from full-time to part time employment. Driving the changes... profitability, a no-brainer but the problem exacerbated by the years of a slow moving economy and reaching a point where the economies of scale, the advances in tech, and the irreducible labor costs, defy the hoped-for recovery. A point of no return for the kid of retailing we've grown used to.
Until now, the saving factors have been through a switch to up scale, hi margin goods, and of course, in the food industry... to the specialty food (gluten free, diet, and organic) large scale introduction. The continued softening in the economy is squeezing middle ground. The change in profitability from "mall type" specialty stores, to Dollar Stores reflects the widening gap between high and low end markets.
You may see this as a normal continuum of the same kind of change that we see in every industry. To an extent, this is certainly true, but retailing as we know it today, plays a large part in our social lives, as well as other major 'things" that come out of this: shopping travel, advertising, impulse buying.
Not just the difference between on-line and in-store, but the future of the retail business as it may be five years from now.
Open end for thoughts on any part of the subject.
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