Retailing

Two new tomes have been penned to help independent dealers compete in an over-stored marketplace. From Eddy Kay comes “Thriving in the Shadow of...

In the wake of a weak market for dot-com investment capital, Wal-Mart and Kmart are biting the bullet and buying back their e-commerce businesses....

As part of its new emphasis on customer relations, Circuit City is providing an online survey to gather feedback from customers regarding their in-store...

Too many talented garage-rock musicians are languishing in obscurity, unable to catapult their blaring anthems to an audience wider than friends, family and patient...

Retailers are guarded in their fourth-quarter outlook as they lay in plans now for the next holiday selling season. Given the continuing economic slump,...

What a difference a couple of years can make. It wasn’t too long ago that Warrantech Corp., the extended service contract provider, found itself...

When the going gets tough, as it certainly has in the current economic climate, the tough get going. And when the tough get going,...

Like a modern day David to Bentonville’s Goliath, Frank Wildhaber, owner of 27-year-old L & W Appliance here, decided to open his newest store...

Life could be so much sweeter and simpler for consumer electronics and appliance retailers if suppliers would offer merchandise at one price, or at...

During CEA’s CEO Summit keynote, Best Buy’s Brad Anderson also addressed the age-old question of sales training and how important it is in keeping...

Best Buy’s Brad Anderson fielded questions from his audience of both manufacturers and retailers on key industry issues, and key issues facing Best Buy,...

The Top Three CE specialty chains laid much of the blame for tepid May and first quarter revenue on sluggish sales of personal computers,...

From the yellow tiled floor up to the “lifestyle” promotional signs hanging from the ceiling, one of the ballrooms of a local Hyatt was...

LOS ANGELES — To borrow from Mark Twain, reports of the death of e-commerce have been greatly exaggerated. According to a recent report by...

AUSTIN, TEX. — RadioShack opened its first in-store shop at a Blockbuster video rental store here last week in the first phase of a...

SALT LAKE CITY — Overstock.com, the online liquidator that sells deeply discounted brand name CE, computers and other consumer products direct, has added a...

LYNDHURST, N.J. — Harvey Electronics said fiscal second-quarter sales rose 6.6 percent to $9.1 million from the year-ago period, while sales for the six...

NEW YORK — The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index sprung up since its decline in April, indicating that consumers are gaining optimism about the...

DELRAY BEACH, FLA. — Office Depot acquired in late May small office e-tailer officesupplies.com, its first e-commerce purchase, for an undisclosed amount. Officesupplies.com’s site...

SANTA ANA, CALIF. — Ingram Micro recently announced several service enhancements for its U.S. IM-Logistics division, including its first dedicated reverse logistics center in...

Let’s begin this column with a pop quiz. Please have a No. 2 pencil available. Question 1: Can you name the ingredients in a...

BOSTON — Amid the dust that’s now beginning to settle from the e-commerce shakeout, RetailExchange.com is one of the few b-to-b closeout sites for...

WEST CHESTER, PA. — Electronics Boutique (EB), the international software and video game hardware chain, will open its first European stores as part of...

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. — Customers of American Appliance, the bankrupt regional majap chain, will receive merchandise that was paid for prior to the dealer’s surprise...

The time, if I recall correctly, was early in 1982, and things weren’t good on the economic front. Consumer confidence was in the toilet,...

One of the toughest decisions retailers are constantly called upon to make is how much inventory to buy. Not that they don’t have a...

NEW YORK — Cambridge SoundWorks, the factory-direct audio manufacturer, has expanded its distribution to New York City CE specialist J&R Music and Computer World....

LOS ANGELES — While e-SIM’s LiveProducts division has taken a dominant position in the CE simulation space, it’s not the only game in town....

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIF. — GetPlugged.com, the consumer electronics e-commerce and marketing portal, has added an Infinity Virtual Showroom to it site that showcases the...

NEW YORK — The use of interactive product simulations to sell or provide instruction in the use of CE devices received a ringing endorsement...

PHILADELPHIA — Philips Consumer Electronics, North America (PCENA) has tapped CE/majap distributor Almo Corp. to handle the logistics of its premium and incentive operation....

WAYNE, N.J. — JVC Company of America has revamped its Web site with a new look and expanded features to further its branding effort...

Appliance and electronics buying group Associated Volume Buyers (AVB) has implemented a new online product ordering option for its member dealers, while fellow buying...

RICHMOND, VA. — Going out of business sales are in full swing at Heilig-Meyers’ 346 stores. The process is being handled by a partnership...

Traditional market research attempts to predict consumer behavior by asking consumers what they will do, and/or by making assumptions about their likely behavior based...

ORLANDO, FLA. — Despite dismal sales and earnings by the nation’s major majap makers, and double-digit declines in monthly factory shipments, dealers and manufacturers...

ORLANDO, FLA. — Within the past year, Internet-enabled appliances have moved from high-concept prototypes to high-end products ready for rollout. Among manufacturers with target...

I’m not sure what the lead-in for this column should be. It could be “Old soldiers never die,” or some reference to “The Night...

Faced with a slowdown in consumer spending this year and continuously aggressive competition from national chains, the industry’s buying groups remain optimistic that their...

ARLINGTON, VA. — CEA president/CEO Gary Shapiro emphasized the benefits the CE industry brings to the environment, but warned against new, short-term programs that...

MILLTOWN, N.J. — April was a busy month for The Wiz, the New York metro area CE specialty chain. Besides breaking its first major...

LYNDURST, N.J. — Harvey Electronics, the high-end, New York metro area CE specialty chain, said its sales rose 13.8 percent to $17.2 million for...