Autumn is here — and with it, the critical fourth calendar quarter, that make-or-break period that separates the golden performers from the rest of the retailing community. This year, in particular, change has been the retailing constant, but in many quarters of the retailing community things have been remarkably consistent, with many companies doing very
Suddenly, without warning, mass retailing is experiencing a transformation without precedent — or, at the least, without precedent in this century. Within the space of days, Amazon.com Inc. has purchased Whole Foods Market Inc., an alliance that brings together two of the most fascinating retailers currently vying for business in America, while Walmart has entered
The fallout from Amazon.com Inc.’s agreement to acquire Whole Foods Market Inc. is just beginning. But the implications are already clear: This transaction, if completed, will shake up the mass retailing community as nothing has done in years, if not decades. Parallels do not come readily to mind. Walgreen Co.’s merger with Alliance Boots GmbH
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.’s (WBA’s) plan to acquire Rite Aid Corp. in its entirety is, for now, dead. For some, it was an inevitable conclusion to a strategy that was full of holes. For others, by far the majority, it was a surprising conclusion to a well-conceived plan to increase the already dynamic presence of
It begins to look like the chain drug industry will toil through 2017 much as it did last year. In other words, Walgreens Boots Alliance’s acquisition of Rite Aid Corp. will likely not happen. This comes as a surprise to many industry people, despite overwhelming evidence that the federal government has long viewed this alliance
There’s been a pickup in retail activity and energy, perhaps a result of the optimistic performance reports a few leading retailers have posted of late. Suddenly, major companies that appeared to be daunted by even minor challenges are responding more positively — and more aggressively — to the stresses of doing business. Leading the way
The quiet year continues. Mass retailing has changed, but only insofar as new faces have replaced the old and new formats have come along to challenge existing ones. The major players remain in place, and new retailing forms have thus far not disturbed the balance of power. This is not to say that retailing is
For many executives, this year’s National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting could just as easily be labeled a weeklong First-Timers Reception. So dramatic has been the turnover of staffers at some of America’s leading mass retailers that many of the attendees at the 2017 event in Scottsdale, Ariz., have never been to an
The movement of mass retailing executives continues, with a number of high-profile departures from some of America’s largest retailers. In some cases the moves involve companies that are struggling to right themselves after a period of indifferent performance. All the more reason to ask why. Are the departures centered on quality-of-life issues, involving remuneration and
Walmart appears to be recovering from the doldrums that surrounded it for the past two years. New, younger, revitalized management, a course correction that successfully abandoned a set of policies and procedures that never captured the hearts and minds of Walmart shoppers, and a return to the basics that had long guided Walmart customers have
The convention season began in earnest earlier this month with the NACDS Regional Chain Conference. This event, traditionally one of the more anticipated on the NACDS meetings calendar, is noted for setting the tone for the many meetings, conferences and trade shows that follow throughout the year. Devoid of the country’s largest retailers, and the
Where will mass retailing executives be spending their out-of-office time in 2017? Surprisingly, fewer viable choices are immediately apparent, though the obvious ones — the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the Food Marketing Institute — still stand out. On the face of it, the broad selection of recent years has diminished, in part