President Obama Praises Retailers as Part of the Health Care Solution
from the Retail Industry Leaders Association
In a meeting today with President Obama and business leaders, top executives with Safeway and Recreational Equipment, Inc (REI) drew praise for their innovative employee health care and wellness programs, noted the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). Following the meeting, President Obama referred to the participants, which included REI President and CEO Sally Jewell and Safeway President and CEO Steven Burd, as “some of the best practitioners of prevention and wellness programs -- in the private sector.” More

Financial, Retail Stocks Lure Bargain Hunters
from The Associated Press via Yahoo! News
Investors cautiously returned to Wall Street Thursday, lured by beaten down financial and retail stocks. The buying was subdued after a worse-than-expected weekly unemployment report added to investors' growing concerns that the economic recovery might not come as quickly as hoped. Stocks are down sharply this week as investors worry that the optimism that fed the market's spring rally might have been premature. More

Linens ‘N’ Things Unfolds a New Retail Web Site
from Internet Retailer
The e-commerce site of Linens ‘N’ Things, LNT.com, officially relaunched today, three months after it was acquired in a bankruptcy auction. Besides bedding and bath products, the new site features pet supplies, baby gear and luggage. The site also offers a 10 percent grand opening discount on orders over $50 and free shipping on purchases of $99 or more. More

Dollar General, Target, Walgreens, CVS Among Retailers Still Expanding
from The Post and Courier
While the barrage of store closings grabs most headlines, a number of major retailers plan store openings this year as well. A study of 250 major retail chains by commercial real estate information provider CoStar Group found they plan to open nearly 4,000 stores this year and close about 3,600, a number that is expected to increase as additional retailers fall victim to the economy through closings and liquidations. Those planning to open the most U.S. stores this year include Walgreens, Dollar General, CVS, Gamestop, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Walmart Supercenter, Aldi , Target and Tractor Supply Co. More

Kohl’s Improves in Online Customer Satisfaction
from The Business Journal of Milwaukee
The online shopping site for Kohl’s Department Stores showed the most improvement in customer satisfaction among the largest online retailers, according to a recent report. ForeSee Results, of Ann Arbor, Mich., found that customer satisfaction with many of the largest online retailers “is taking a dive” that threatens to hinder an online retail recovery just as the rest of the economy shows signs of recovery. More

Wal-Mart May Expand Into Russian Retail Market
from Bloomberg
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, may expand into Russia to take advantage of its fragmented retail market and sell merchandise more cheaply, Treasurer Charles Holley said. “It’s an emerging market where there’s not a lot of organized retail,” Holley said. More

Retail Sales Dip Raises Worries about Recovery
from The Associated Press
Retail sales fell in April for a second straight month, dashing hopes that consumer spending was starting to revive and would help end the recession. Economists said families who are worried about layoffs and unpaid job furloughs are saving more and spending less, delaying the start of a sustained recovery. The disappointing report helped send stocks down on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average slid 184 points — more than 2 percent. Other major indexes fell even more sharply. More

Target Expands Fresh Food to Boost Sales
from Supermarket News
Based on early results from test stores, Target Corp. in Minneapolis plan to expand its offerings of fresh food and produce at 100 of its general-merchandise stores by the end of the year as part of an effort to boost sales, though the locations of these stores is unknown. The retailer first tested the new format last year at two of its locations in Minnesota, then added eight test locations in other states earlier this year. More

How CompUSA Made a Comeback
from BusinessWeek
Just a year ago, CompUSA seemed like a goner. The consumer-electronics retailer had closed all 103 of its stores, done in by giants such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart Stores, which leveraged their scale to offer lower prices and wider selections. Today a smaller CompUSA is bouncing back. Despite the recession, the chain's sales are growing, thanks to a thrifty remake of its reopened stores.With little in the budget, the electronics retailer put the idling computers in its showrooms to work, and to great effect. More

Why Retailing Will Never be the Same Again
from Forbes
We're all acutely aware that the Internet and the recession are ravaging the newspaper business and raising the possibility of its extinction. But meanwhile a much bigger industry, the $4 trillion U.S. retailing business, is also being radically reshaped by the Web and the economic downturn. It's happening far more subtly, but the ultimate impact will be just as profound, both for retailers and for the manufacturers that sell through them. More

Restaurant Chains Are All A-Twitter
from Chain Leader
It's small—8.9 million users compared to Facebook's 200 million. But Twitter has become the social-networking tool of choice for many restaurant chains wishing to court a young, hip clientele… Generally speaking, new users choose to follow current users in hopes that the favor will be returned. More

U.S. Grocery Association Launches Food Safety Plan to Cut Salmonella
from Food Quality News
The U.S. Grocery Manufacturers Association has launched what it terms “wide ranging” initiatives to step up protection against food-borne illnesses including salmonella. The projects, which follow last year’s fatal outbreak of salmonella traced to Georgia peanuts, focus on: Modernising product recalls, third-party food safety audits of manufacturers and updating the implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices for food. More