Bob Johns
Google+Bob Johns is a contributing writer focusing on the retail, hospitality, and food industries
ARTICLES BY BOB JOHNS
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Is Amazon Killing Free Shipping?10/23/2013
Amazon.com recently upped the requirements to qualify for free shipping from $25 to $35, a 40 percent increase. This marks the first time in 10 years that the company has done so, and comes at a time when retailers with an online presence are testing everything from in-store pickup to same-day delivery. The odd thing about the announcement is timing it right before the holiday season. This may be by design as the company pushes consumers to increase basket size or switch to Amazon Prime, which offers free 2-day shipping as part of a subscription service. By pushing the minimums higher, the company is effectively killing free shipping on many purchases.
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Small Retailers Creating Big Business10/22/2013
Although individual small and midsize retailers may have smaller sales numbers, combined they dwarf the big-box retailers.
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Under Armour Continues International Expansion10/22/2013
The athletic apparel company is building its brand internationally by opening more stores in China. At the Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference in September of this year, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank said that his company is a $10 billion company at a $2 billion level right now. In order to achieve his goal of becoming that $10 billion company, global expansion is key. “We recognize that we have this very strong North American business. It’s actually more than 90% of our total revenues. We understand that gives us great runway and great opportunity because our idea, our opportunity, is to be a global brand, which we define as where more than half of our revenues will come from outside of our home country. We haven’t put a timeline on that, but we believe it’s a great opportunity,” says Plank. To that end, the company currently operates its brand in China, Hong Kong (through a partnership), and Taiwan.
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The New World Of Loss Prevention10/22/2013
As technology evolves, so do criminals, and loss prevention (LP) professionals must also evolve in order to stay ahead of them and offer value to the entire retail enterprise.
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Harry & David Leverages Traffic Data To Boost Sales10/22/2013
The fruit-and-food gift retailer uses in-store and retail-complex traffic data to make intelligent decisions for the stores.
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How AT&T’s New Store Design Engages The Customer10/22/2013
A new open-concept design helps to engage the digital customer at every turn.
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How The Seattle Seahawks Are Embracing Mobility10/22/2013
The football team and its partner soccer team deployed mobile POS devices in their expanded Pro Shop to keep customers moving quickly through transactions and back to the game.
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Dollar General Looks To Add Fuel To Market Stores10/21/2013
Dollar General has been busy. The company recently opened its 11,000th store, its most recent quarter’s sales were up 11.3 percent, and it was recognized as Company of the Year in Retail by the American Business Awards. Now, however, they are trying something totally new — fuel stations.
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eBay’s Earnings, Revenue, And Growth Jump10/17/2013
Online giant eBay reported its 2013 Q3 results yesterday in a conference call, and the results were stellar in all areas. Overall revenue for the quarter ending September 30 rose 14 percent over a year ago to $3.9 billion. GAAP operating margins increased from 19.6 percent to 20.5 percent, with GAAP earnings increasing 16 percent.
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Political Standoff Ends Just In Time For Retailers10/17/2013
The end of the recent political showdown could not have come at a better time for retailers. As we head into the critical holiday buying season, the partial government shutdown and debt ceiling were weighing heavily on consumers. Unfortunately, the current agreement only raised the debt ceiling for four months, so we may have to revisit this again in January. For retailers, at least the agreement continues through the holidays.