Anyone questioning the vitality of the retail industry would have had those doubts put to rest if they were present at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York City earlier this month. With some 40,000 attendees — almost half of them retailers, including everyone from small business owners to John Furner, president of
Among the myriad laws and regulations that took effect across the country at the start of 2020, none is likely to have a bigger impact on the way mass market retailers do business than the California Consumer Privacy Act. Passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom amid calls for
Actuaries at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have released their annual look at trends in U.S. health care spending. Published in the journal Health Affairs, the report contains a few bright spots, but the overall picture remains bleak. Total expenditures on health care increased 4.6% in 2018 to reach $3.6 trillion. While the
At the beginning of the month, Kroger Co. unveiled a redesigned corporate logo intended to impart a contemporary look and feel to the supermarket operator’s iconic brand. Complemented by the tagline “Fresh for Everyone,” the new logo is the tip of the spear in a multimedia brand transformation campaign whose aim is to express Kroger’s
The rush to capitalize on widespread consumer interest in products that contain cannabidiol has become a stampede. Not a week goes by without news from companies looking to enter or enlarge their presence in the burgeoning CBD business, one whose reach already extends across a range of CPG categories, including health and wellness, beauty, food
Always a major factor in determining where people choose to shop, the concept of convenience is now continually redefined by rapid advances in technology. Consumers can, of course, turn to e-commerce to order products and services anytime, anywhere, and usually expect to receive them in short order, and digital devices enable them to access detailed
The Food Marketing Institute recently issued the 70th installment in its annual The Food Retailing Industry Speaks series. Based on responses from retailers that together operate more than 36,000 stores, the report provides a window on what the leaders of the nation’s grocery companies think about the challenges they currently face and prospects for the
There is a sea change occurring among business leaders in America that promises to transform a sector of society that has frequently been criticized, with some justification, for being motivated solely by profits. The Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of major U.S. companies, last month issued an updated “Statement on the Purpose
Less than a year after the completion of the $77 billion acquisition of Aetna, CVS Health shows every sign of being on course to achieve its stated objective of transforming the consumer health care experience in America. Evidence of the swift progress in integrating the two companies and the positive response to the initial steps
The nation’s top consumer-facing technology companies, including e-commerce powerhouse Amazon, will encounter increased scrutiny from the federal government. The Department of Justice late last month announced that it is looking into the business practices of “market-leading online platforms,” an elite group led by Facebook, Google and Apple, as well as Amazon. Overseen by the department’s
Amazon, synonymous with innovation in retailing and technology, consistently tests boundaries as a result of its self-described customer obsession and commitment to long-term thinking. The company’s catalytic role in e-commerce is a given, but in recent years it has also extended its reach in the realm of brick-and-mortar retailing. Through the acquisition of Whole Foods
Walmart held the series of events that comprise its annual meeting earlier this month on its home turf in northwest Arkansas, and, according to a well-established pattern, the occasion afforded the company the opportunity to celebrate its accomplishments, recognize its workforce and look to the future. Walmart’s eminence as the world’s biggest retailer has long