Retail Watchers

I think popcorn was a Mariano's innovation--had some really good stuff several years ago...made for a nice drive back to Detroit.

This noon we had a business meeting over lunch on the suburban strip (Big Beaver Road/Troy, MI). The first place that came to mind (Brio) has closed (!)...apparently they're still elsewhere (one in each of the big cities in Ohio, for instance). Calling our hosts, we brainstormed and ended up at Coop...

re seeing RFID checkouts...check your local library....some of the more modern ones have it.

These Circle offers--they aren't incenting me to do my own shopping--I refuse to use my smartphone inside Target. Now, as I peruse the Circle offers, it's easier to create and pick up an order than it was before (don't even have to "clip" the coupon). I have no confidence, though, that I'd...

I think the Rite Aid/McKesson situation is important. Rite Aid despite continually shrinking is still a very large customer for McKesson. Safeway uses McKesson as well. I wonder at this point if McKesson is part of why Rite Aid is still around. I don't think their pharmacies are having the supply i...

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/05/29/amazon-fresh-planned-to-bring-9-michigan-sites-but-has-gone-silent/73822901007/ Not much new here but some good atmospherics...Madison Heights is in a strip currently with a BJs Warehouse and was formerly the location of a reasonably success...

Not seeing here in Michigan the dire reports you're reporting from CA.

Interestingly, the clearance sections universally (i.e. at all stores) have cold/flu merchandise (generally more esoteric SKUs and CPAP/digital thermometer merchandise) recently added around here.

When I was at KFC in the late 80s the lifespan of a KFC box was 30 years...I don't think they have done anything that would cause a step-change in that life since; the reasoning was that the technology and decor/setup/offering changes the older buildings become obsolete. You can see that as they hav...

Albertsons definitely failed with the Plated meal kits, those only lasted two years. It is strange Safeway launched Ready Meals instead of trying to re-launch Plated. I'm not sure when these stores will give up on these programs and quit tolerating the shrink. When they work at all it is always in ...

I think y'all are missing the point here....this is nothing more/less than retail and restaurant has always done to fill their management pipeline...in the 50s (at least) onward all the chains (both department, Sears/Penney and dime store) had pipeline programs....they have just migrated toward Targ...