Retail insight on 9th September

Sep 9, 2009

News and Analysis for the retail industry

News

Wal-Mart pvt labels in Bharti stores The Economic Times Bharti Retail has introduced eight Wal-Mart private labels, including two of its largest Great Value and George in its supermarket chain Easyday, hoping to attract more consumers with their international design and packaging and more importantly the value they represent.

Shoppers Stop to hire 1,000 more Rediff Lifestyle retailer Shoppers Stop plans to up its headcount by nearly 1,000 in the next six months in line with the roll-outs of its new stores in five cities across India.

Mothercare gets DLF push The Economic Times Mothercare, a UK retailer for kids and expectant mothers, is forming a 51:49 joint venture with India's largest real estate company DLF.

Timex to introduce global brands Business Standard Watch manufacturer Timex today said it will introduce more international brands from its global portfolio in the country and strengthen its retail presence by opening 20 more stores across the country by the end of this fiscal.

Retail Trends

RPG's Music World on expansion spree Radioandmusic The RPG group’s music retail store, Music World is on an expanding spree and plans to introduce more ‘shop in shop’ outlets other than own retail stores.

Retail Insight

The Retail Store Labor Management Improvement Process Atlanta Retail Consulting With continuous pressure on retailers to improve their financial performance, it is natural that they will aggressively look for ways to control operating costs. Store labor expense, typically second only to the actual cost of inventory, is a natural target for additional scrutiny. CEOs continually challenge their organization to squeeze out excess labor and find ways to operate more efficiently. Less-than-optimal store labor effectiveness can result from this process, like that depicted in the chart below, if the wrong approach is utilized. This unbalanced scenario is more typical than the industry wants to admit and both labor cost and customer service are often compromised.