In-Store articles from July 2003

In-Store archives from July 2003

Windows whisper at Peter Jones. (Whispering Windows display system).(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... John Lewis Partnership's Chelsea department store, Peter Jones, has become the first UK store to install a 'Whispering Windows' display system. Using FeONIC technology developed by Newlands Scientific, the system essentially turns the...

Asda slated over extra floors.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Asda Wal-Mart's mezzanine floors are exploiting a loophole in planning regulations, claims environmental group Friends of the Earth (FOE). FOE claims the multiple's mezzanine extensions affect local areas in the same way as a physical...

Brighthouse set for growth.(News)(plans to triple the number of its outlets)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Brighthouse is planning to triple the number of its outlets in an extensive programme over the next 10 years. Currently trading in 111 stores, the rent-to-buy homewares retailer is due to open 21 more stores this year in mainland Britain...

SDEA to back In-Store show from 2004 event. (Shop and Display Equipment Association).(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Shop and Display Equipment Association (SDEA) has announced its support of the In-Store Design and Marketing Show 2004. Next year will mark the In-Store Show's seventh outing. The SDEA has supported other shows in the past, but will...

Lego is piloting a three-dimensional moving image that appears to be floating in mid-air.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Lego is piloting a three-dimensional moving image that appears to be floating in mid-air. The new display includes a black screen that projects an image of revolving bricks and Lego constructions, similar to...

Bullring mall engages media screen partners. (Birmingham, England).(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Birmingham's landmark 0.1 million sq m (1.2 million sq ft) Bullring shopping mall, due to open in September, has appointed a business partnership of Kudos Digital Group, Immedia Systems and Point of Purchase TV, to provide and manage an...

Salad brand Florette is planning a big push in-store to capture a greater market share from supermarket own-label brands.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Salad brand Florette is planning a big push in-store to capture a greater market share from supermarket own-label brands. The bagged salad group is beginning an eight-week field marketing campaign run by...

Kesslers is awarded for service.(News)(Kesslers International wins prestigious Manufacturing Excellence Award in customer service category)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... P-O-P design and manufacture group Kesslers International has won a prestigious Manufacturing Excellence Award. The company won the customer service category of the awards, run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (ImechE). It...

Co-op flies South in Balfour acquisition. (Co-operative Group, Balfour Convenience Store Group).(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Co-operative Group is planning an invasion of the South of England, starting with its purchase of the Balfour Convenience Store Group. The move puts the Co-op in direct competition with Sainsbury's and Tesco in the battle for the...

Budgens flies flag with British meat sampling.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Budgens has announced a Budgens Backs British Farmers initiative in its meat sourcing strategy, to allow for 100 per cent British produce on own-label products. An in-store campaign will run from 3 July through all Budgens and Budgens...

Blackwell's opts for a more youthful image.(News)(is revamping image with overhaul by brand design agency Enterprise IG)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Blackwell's is revamping its bookish image with an overhaul by brand design agency Enterprise IG. The redesign, carried out in a number of university and high street stores, aims to reinforce the brand's academic heritage, but limit its...

Ottakars tunes into RFID security.(News)(hopes use of radio frequency identification technology will help prevent theft; signs contract with Checkpoint Meto)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Theft costs the UK book industry 700m [pounds sterling] every year. Ottakars retail group has set out to tackle the problem with an initial step towards investment in radio frequency identification (RFID). The group has signed a contract...

Smokers roll up to save pennies.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Trading down is rife in the cigarette market, according to a study by market research group Key Note. The report says consumers are attempting to limit the cost of their habit by switching from premium priced cigarettes to cheaper brands...

Drinks Company sees Red.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... As part of its Artic Vodka range, The Drinks Company has launched Artic Red. The drink, at 18 per cent abv, is a combination of vodka and citrus flavours. It is packaged in 70cl bottles designed to have high impact and appeal to a young target...

California is a wrap for Discovery.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Mexican and American-style food manufacturer Discovery Foods has launched a range of traditionally-themed California Style Chilled Wraps. Featuring three flavours, the range retails for between 2.29 [pounds sterling] and 2.69 [pounds sterling],...

Philips cuts down on light bulb space.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Philips Lighting has commissioned field marketing group Blue Water to reduce the shelf space allocated to light bulbs in 450 Tesco stores. Philips' light bulbs, and those it produces for Tesco's own label, are decreasing in size and taking up...

HL learns to talk French.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... HL Display has produced 120,000 shelf talkers for the 118 hypermarkets of the French Auchan supermarket chain. Two variants have been used to promote the company's loyalty card scheme.

Eye tests are kids' stuff at Tesco.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Tesco has agreed to put in place 750 posters in-store detailing the importance of eye tests for children, following the last month's National Children's Eye Week by the Royal National Institute for the Blind.

The tale of Peter Rabbit Organics.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Organic food manufacturer Buxton Foods is marketing a Peter Rabbit Organics range of food products for children and babies. Billed as "food parents can trust and little ones will enjoy", the brand is launching in Waitrose stores. In-store...

Pump and circumstance: the recent extension of the Sainsbury's and Shell link-up has confirmed the role of petrol station forecourts for quality convenience shopping. Maeve Hosea goes on petrol patrol and finds supermarkets and oil companies are very profitable partners.(News Analysis)
July 1, 2003... Petrol stations are no longer just places to skulk after hours for a pint of milk. Many are open 24 hours a day, stocking not only confectionery, drinks, cigarettes and maps, but also fresh fruit and vegetables, alcohol and ready meals. A...

Think before you turn on TV.(Letters)
July 1, 2003... I read with interest your analysis of Tesco's in-store TV ("Tesco's channel vision", In-Store June 2003) and subsequently visited the first store at Addlestone. There is little doubt that Tesco can and will make retail television media work. It...

Calling time on flexibility.(Letters)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... I wonder how many businesses have considered the implications of the planned increased enforcement of the Working Time Directive and the stiff penalties for non-compliance. The retail interiors industry contains many labour-intensive...

Optimism has resurfaced on the industry's agenda.(Leader)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... So, another year and another In-Store Show. This year's new, bigger and brighter event made the move from Olympia to the larger Earl's Court One, expanding its remit to include a larger element of design and shopfitting alongside the...

Glass with class: Casio's Kerry Staniforth is seduced by the clean, simple lines of fashion retailer Joseph.(Display Of The Month)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Is the white box out? Is it back in? Fashion retailers have vexed themselves with this debate for years. Top Shop has colourful, experimental interiors, which veer from the blank to the inspiring to the ridiculous. H&M keeps it monochrome...

Argentina isn't crying: Carina Ponieman, of the retail design agency Ponieman-Murlender Design in Argentina, describes how in a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, retailing creativity has tackled the economic crisis.(Global Talk)
July 1, 2003... Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital city, was the scene of an unbridled expansion of retail in the 1990s, in malls, shopping centres and large shops, but it was brought sharply to a halt by the dramatic economic crisis of December 2001. ...

Tesco gets aggressive in Japan.(International News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Tesco has announced plans to move into the Japanese market with the proposed purchase of C Two-Network, owner of 78 convenience stores focusing on the Tokyo area. The aggressive expansion programme aims to open between 10 and 20 new stores...

EC brings boot down on rogue traders.(International News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Fair trading laws proposed by the European Commission last month intend to crack down on a number of scams, including misleading promotions and bogus competitions. The proposals aim to protect consumers and honest businesses that suffer unfair...

T-Mobil takes its stand across Europe.(International News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The T-Mobil interactive stand created last year by Arno interactive for the German market, which allows customers to surf the web and check information regarding their T-Mobil phone account, is rolling out to a further 500 outlets across...

US shoppers are slow off the mark.(International News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Consumers are still not shopping in the US as much as expected, according to the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers. Sustained growth depends on an increase in employment and the avoidance of deflation, according to research.

Argentinian supermarkets in downturn.(International News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Supermarket sales in Argentina are down by 9.8 per cent on the previous year, according to the country's national statistics agency. But shopping centre sales were up 17.1 per cent on the figure last year.

Saha Thais up retail move.(International News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... In Thailand, consumer goods company Saha Group is moving into retail by opening a homewares and food store called 108 Shop. Half of the store's goods will be manufactured by the Saha Group. The company will allow small enterprises to open their...

Meat label law leaves sour taste in US.(International News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Unrest is growing in the US about a new law, forcing producers of cow and pigs to detail the country of origin on the labels by 30 September 2004. The legislation was designed as a marketing tool to persuade consumers to buy US produce. The...

Fun and games at Hamleys: Lauren Mills, business correspondent at the Sunday Telegraph, finds it hard to keep up with the bidding battle for toy giant Hamleys, and makes a case for some earnest competition between the big supermarkets.(City Talk)
July 1, 2003... Hamleys, the famous toy store on London's Regent Street, is at the centre of a bidding war. And it looks as though the contestant who was thought least likely to win is currently in the best position. Let's consider who's bidding. On one...

Credit has a merry month in May.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Consumer credit jumped to 1.7bn [pounds sterling] in May--0.4bn [pounds sterling] higher than the April figure, according to the Bank of England. The figure represents a 14 per cent increase on May last year.

Hard times forecast for food industry.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... With the risk of insolvency rising, the food industry has been warned to protect itself by insurance and receivables management company Gerling NCM. Insolvencies in the hotel and catering business are up 37 per cent over the past 12 months. In...

Kingfisher offloads Comet group.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Kingfisher will sell Comet in a demerger of its electronics arm, Kesa Electricals, which includes French retailers Darty and BUT. The new group will be Europe's third largest electrical retailer, with 790 stores in seven European countries. It...

Phonelines spark profit and complaints.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Premium rate phonelines, including those that have ben used for on-pack promotions, made a peak profit of almost 1bn [pounds sterling] last year, according to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information...

WH Smith loses key executive duo.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... WH Smith chairman Martin Taylor is resigning, leaving before the end of the year. The retailer is also losing chief executive Richard Handover, whose successor is expected to be announced within the next five months.

Profits up despite flat sales at Woolies. (Woolworths).(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Woolworths has announced that sales are flat, but it was beginning to see improvements in its profit margins, according to the latest AGM statement from group chairman Gerald Corbett.

UK group tables Debenhams offer.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Debenhams looks to have a second suitor in private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and the Texas Pacific Group, following a 1.5bn [pounds sterling] bid from UK private equity group Permira.

Credit where credit's due: Mike Cooper, marketing and merchandising director at Brighthouse, is no stranger to bad press. Its high credit rates may be unique, but so, he says, is the retailer's relationship with its customers. Michael Bird check's out his APRs. (annual percentage rates).(Profile: Mike Cooper, Brighthouse)
July 1, 2003... "You could say that if our customers had the money they could buy their products cheaper elsewhere," says Mike Cooper, marketing and merchandising director at Brighthouse. "But that's what it's like for all of us really. Bill Gates could...

The introduction of an innovative method of installing the interior of a shop, office, or any place where the use of Slatwall or MDF panelling is to be used as an artificial walling. (medium density fiberboard).
July 1, 2003... A year ago my business was asked to produce an aluminium section to fit into slatwall that would hold a shelf. In the discussion with the client, he informed me that there was a need for a system that would hold Slatwall in place without having...

Chipping news: Chip and PIN, an international initiative to bust credit card fraud, is due to roll out in 2005. But as Michael Bird reports, many believe the technology is plagued by oversights that could threaten its efficiency. (Personal Identification Number).(Technology Report)
July 1, 2003... The city of Northampton is the site for a ground-breaking pilot that will change the way consumers buy products in-store the fraud-busting Chip and PIN technology. But the trial continues amid controversy that instigators of the change...

In-Store holds Court: from shopfitters to brand managers, and DIY to cosmetics, the In-Store Marketing Show hosted a huge range of exhibitors and visitors in its new Earls Court venue. Maeve Hosea checked out the stands and seminars. (do it yourself).(Show Report)
July 1, 2003... The grand space of Earl's Court One played host to the sixth In-Store Marketing Show last month. The bigger venue attracted a record number of visitors and exhibitors, reflecting confidence in the industry and paving the way for the show's...

Can't get no satisfaction? Keeping customers happy isn't so easy these days. Retailers are facing complaints from a much bolshier British public.(Market Report)(Industry Overview)
July 1, 2003... The retail sector is excellent at dealing with complaints. Shops have many routes for customers to voice or scribble down their protests, such as a point of contact in-store, a call centre or an e-mail system. Recent research from the...

Green grocers: grocery retailers are borrowing values from food markets to satisfy customer demands for freshness and tradition. (includes related article).(Special Report)(Industry Overview)
July 1, 2003... Sainsbury's has launched its own fair trade coffee. Asda has in place a Buy British campaign, while the latest Waitrose initiative is locally-produced food. And when it was a serious player, Safeway wrested consumers to buy into its fresh...

Forklift alarm is a touch sensitive.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Radford has launched two products designed to improve health and safety standards in the workplace. The Watchman, a touch-sensitive alarm system, alerts forklift truck drivers and supervisory staff to the likelihood of a collision. The...

Kiosks get the TFT image. (thin film transistor).(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Three Five Systems has launched a 12.1in TFT panel for the kiosk market. The screen displays at 0.3075mm dot pitch, ensuring that images and text are both crisp, says the company. The screen is also treated with an anti-glare finish. ...

Contact unit is talking point. (Storacall Teleacoustics).(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Storacall Teleacoustics has developed customer contact point units, designed to allow customers inside retail environments to interface with central or remote service departments via a direct telephone connection. The contact points can...

Slimmer, dimmer lamps in spotlight.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Lighting manufacturer and designer Illuma has launched Electrostar, a 12v spotlight with an integral transformer which is compatible with most types of dimmer. The light can be used with 20W, 35W or 50W lamps. It measures a compact 135mm,...

It's playback time for Blade. (playback system from DVS).(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Blade II, a small solid-state controlled playback system developed by DVS group, has been on trial in the retail sector. The non-PC equipment, designed to play high-quality video images in a controlled format, is "future-proof", according...

Speaking the same language.(Point Of Purchase Advertising International)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Shopper and consumer understanding was a consistent theme of the Category Management Summit. The difference between a shopper and a consumer is that one buys and one consumes. That appears self-evident, but the words are often perceived as...

Harrods.(Eye On Design)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Harrods is about the raise en scene of each room, particularly those devoted to fresh fish, meats and the chocolaterie. The opulence of the architecture, the ornate ceramics and the marble marketplace all work together to define the store's...

Harvey Nichols.(Eye On Design)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The metallic flooring leading you into the store sets the tone for the modern, slick, sophisticated appearance. The minimalist stainless steel display units allow the pack design of both branded and own-label products to do the talking. The...

Fortnum and Mason.(Eye On Design)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... This is like stepping on to the set of Amadeus, with crimson carpet, lampshades, and statues of Regency-style butlers brandishing platters of fruit. The real serving staff wear morning suits. The combination creates a seriously...