European Retail Digest articles from September 2002

European Retail Digest archives from September 2002

Editorial.
September 1, 2002... Effective information systems lie at the heart of the most successful retail enterprises. As the scale and scope of retailing grows, and as the ability of competitors to emulate new retail formats and ideas becomes ever speedier, a corporate...

Software savoir faire: what you need to consider in designing and implementing a loyalty solution. (Feature: Retail Information Systems).
September 1, 2002... If you have watched the loyalty marketing industry for any length of time, you have probably recognised the maturation of industry software. As little as five years ago, if you wanted any sophistication in loyalty programme implementation you...

First with the news: WHSmith achieve 50% reduction in customer waiting time.
September 1, 2002... WHSmith is one of the UK's largest high street retailers selling a range of products that extends across education, entertainment and information. Established in 1848, with its first outlets located in railway stations across London and the...

The Web grows up: finding the perfect mix of bricks, clicks and connections.
September 1, 2002... In recent years, retailers worldwide have struggled with a growing tension: invest in bricks and mortar, or turn their resources to the Internet? The quandary proves, especially in tough times, to be a big one. Traditional retailers, saddled...

Global product standards: the key to information sharing.
September 1, 2002... A Global Passport to Better Communication In today's global marketplace, effective communication between trading partners is a critical component to more efficient marketing and distribution of products. Unfortunately, due to the lack of...

Consumer wellbeing: interview with John Hornby, Director of Digital Wellbeing. (Region: British Isles).
September 1, 2002... Wellbeing.com is jointly owned by Boots and Granada, and gives customers access to a wide range of Boots products, information and advice. John Hornby became Commercial Director of Digital Wellbeing Ltd. when it was first created and took over...

Products for any occasion and any lifestyle: private label development at Asda.
September 1, 2002... A confident, brightly-coloured puffin puts a comforting arm around the slumped shoulders of a threadbare, skinny penguin whose demeanour suggests profound disappointment and humiliation. This unlikely ornithological scene, played out on the...

Retailing in Scotland.
September 1, 2002... It is frequently assumed, mainly because of the lack of official statistics to prove otherwise, that there is little difference between the Scottish retail market and the English one. Scotland simply being smaller and lagging somewhat in its...

The failure of retail internationalisation in Marks and Spencer (1).
September 1, 2002... On March 29th 2001, Marks and Spencer announced that it was to sell its Brooks Brothers clothing chain (USA and Japan) and Kings supermarkets (USA) businesses, and turn its company-owned stores in Hong Kong into a franchise. In addition, it was...

Shopping centre and retail park development in the Republic of Ireland.
September 1, 2002... The economic boom in the 1990s in the Republic of Ireland has seen substantial growth in the amount of purpose-built retail floorspace in the country and the total is now approaching one million square metres. Some 47% of the lettable space in...

Large food stores and town revival: evidence from Wales, UK.
September 1, 2002... Introduction Since the 1970s, the growth of out-of-town superstores has had a negative effect on many small and medium-sized town-centres. The food shopping facilities of these town-centres have usually declined, with the restriction of...

Public-private partnerships in UK retailing: the dawn of a new era? (1).
September 1, 2002... Introduction Until recently, the UK government has never really sought to engage itself with the retail industry. It seems to have taken the view that retailing is an industry that can take care of itself and that other sectors of the...

The UK casino market: implications of the Gambling review.
September 1, 2002... In July 2001, the Gambling review body presented the findings and recommendations of their report on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and these proposals were largely endorsed by the Government in a White Paper published in...

"The Euro in my pocket". (European Political Issues).
September 1, 2002... Eight months after the new notes and coins became the legal tender of the eurozone, it is interesting to see the short and medium term effects. It has been widely reported that the changeover was quick and painless, and presented few problems...

Size is not everything in European retailing. (News).
September 1, 2002... Despite a relatively quiet year in terms of retail consolidation, Europe remains a key market for the leading international retailers. As a whole, the European region accounts for approximately a third of the global food and grocery retail...

European grocery retailers caught by internationalisation fever.
September 1, 2002... European food retailers face maturing markets and stiffening domestic competition, resulting in very limited growth prospects in their home markets. To avoid a pure market-share game, many increasingly look for new geographical markets and...

Lithuanian retailing and wholesaling undergo substantial modernization.
September 1, 2002... Vital Statistics Retail and wholesale trade is one of the most rapidly developing sectors of the Lithuanian economy with a share of 14% of GDP, 20% of total foreign direct investment (FDI) and 16% of total employment in 2001. The total...

Letter: America.
September 1, 2002... Dear Reader Hard Decisions in a Soft Economy A soft economy is when `the chickens come home to roost' for those retailers who did not make a commitment to sound retail development and location research principles during the good times....

Letter: Hong Kong.
September 1, 2002... Dear Reader In the March 2002 edition of the European Retail Digest, I wrote about the significant opportunities available to retailers following China's accession to the World Trade Organisation and the tremendous growth evident in retail...

A geographical perspective on retailing and consumption spaces.
September 1, 2002... A geographical perspective on retailing and consumption spaces by Neil Wrigley and Michelle Lowe, Arnold, London, 2002 In the early 1980s, a small but significant migration took place of retail geographers away from the shelter of their...

European CPFR insights, facilitated by Accenture, ECR Europe, 2002.
September 1, 2002... CPFR (Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment) is defined in this publication as "a cross-industry initiative designed to improve the supplier/manufacturer/retailer relationship through co-managed planning processes and shared...

Measuring and Valuing Customer Relationships.
September 1, 2002... by Robert Shaw and David Reed, Business Intelligence, London This report from Business Intelligence aims to "examine the ways in which customer relationships can be measured and managed, and the impact of customer measurement frameworks on...

Web Knowledge Resources For Retailing.
September 1, 2002... There has been a recent proliferation of websites purporting to offer knowledge and advice to retailers. As well as the management consulting businesses and market research agencies, governments, trade associations and academic institutions...

4th Multicultural Marketing Conference Valencia Spain, June 2002.
September 1, 2002... This was the 4th Multicultural Marketing Conference of the Academy of Marketing Science. It was held at the 500 year old University of Valencia. The focus of the conference was marketing analysis and decision-making in a cultural or...

9th International Conference on Retailing and Services Science, EIRASS, Heidelberg, August 2002.
September 1, 2002... The EIRASS conference, now in its 9th year, has achieved something of a reputation on two counts. The first is that it is the only regular event bringing together an eclectic mix of academic disciplines and backgrounds with a common focus on...