Canada's Pet Valu To Be Bought By U.S. Group
from Reuters
Canadian pet food retailer Pet Valu has agreed to be bought by a U.S. private equity group in a deal worth about $123.3 million. Some of the company's biggest shareholders, including Geoffrey Holt, its founder and chief executive, have agreed to tender their shares to the offer. More

How Storytelling Can Help Your Company
from BNET
Remember that creative writing class you took your senior year of college because you wanted an easy elective? It turns out that dusting off the notebook where you wrote about plots and characters might be a way to help you lead your company. Organizational storytelling is slowly but surely becoming a hot strategy for conveying important information about your business, both internally and externally. More

Eight Gadgets to Green Your Office
from Entrepreneur
From printer ink to motion sensor lighting, green hard drives to LED lights, you can go green and save green at the same time. Here are some suggestions. More

Ways to Boost Online Traffic
from Smart Money's Small Biz
Many people wonder what they can do to bring more traffic - targeted buyers - to their web sites, and how to get them to buy more while they're online. Here are a few tips for those of us running online stores to help bring in more traffic to sell products and services on your web site. More

Is the Worst Over? Most Economists Say Yes
from National Public Radio
At the beginning of 2009, many Americans feared an economic depression was at hand. In January alone, U.S. employers slashed nearly three-quarters of a million jobs. Now, as the year's second half begins, most economists are saying the worst of the recession is over, and that slow growth will begin in the fall. More

How to Get What You Came For At a Trade Show
from Conventions.net
As businesses look to reduce costs, marketing budgets are often the first to be cut. This is especially true during a tight economy. According to a recent study conducted by Marketing Profs, 52 percent of the surveyed marketers have already started making changes to plans and budgets. But a downturn is no time to stop spending on marketing. The key is to adapt your strategies to the new economy. One such marketing opportunity is the trade show. More

Pet Supply Shops Grow While Other Retailers Fade
from The Seattle Times
Dedicated pet-supply shops, which came of age over the past couple of decades, have won the wallets of shoppers who refuse to be cheap with their animal companions. In May, PetSmart posted a 12 percent quarterly profit boost and plans to open 40 stores a year for the foreseeable future. More

Shop Talk: Drawing In Customers
from Pet Product News
In this volatile economy, everyone is concerned about maintaining their market share and increasing sales and profits. A business must continue to market itself, even during a period of declining sales. Whether it be print brochures, magazine or newspaper advertising, or radio and television ads, promotion and marketing are extremely important. However, how does one achieve this on a tight budget? More

What Retailers Want – and Need
from Petfood Industry
Consider this scenario: A consumer just adopted a dog and needs to find food. She heard it is important to start her puppy off right. But, right according to whom? She is faced with the largest assortment ever of petfood brands. (I use "she" because most petfood buyers are women.) It's overwhelming and difficult to make comparisons. And I have news for you: The educated consumer is just as confused. More