Articles tagged with national brands:
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DEC
2008
The retail environment is a hothouse for national brands
Hub,
December 15, 2008 —
We now stand at the crossroads of perhaps one of the greatest economic declines in recent American history. It is fitting to reassess one of the more volatile questions faced today in the retail landscape: do store brands pose a significant threat to traditional brands in new ways, and if so, are brands destined to accelerate their decline, disappear in their current form, or evolve with new strategies?
Yes — this is a controversial discussion, but it is even more important now because of changes in the underlying market foundation and because of strategic implications for manufacturers in their approach to being seen by shoppers at retail.
OCT
2008
Uniform Approach Didn't Cut It; Unsold Mowers in Arizona, Too Few Power Tools Out West
Wall Street Journal,
October 7, 2008 —
Shortly after taking command of Home Depot Inc. in early 2007, Frank Blake found a pyramid of riding lawn mowers outside a store in Arizona, where lush lawns are uncommon. It turned out the store had sold only one such mower in two years. Then, he learned that the retailer was chronically short of Makita power tools on the West Coast, where they sell particularly well.
Mr. Blake ordered changes in Home Depot's purchasing system, which had favored national uniformity at the expense of local customer preferences... The shift in Home Depot's buying patterns highlights a tricky problem for national retailers: balancing local demand with national efficiency. In Home Depot's case, the new, more targeted buying has helped lower merchandise costs by reducing... continue reading
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