McDonald’s Kid Meals Get Happy — Will Its Critics?

Posted on May 28, 2014 by bermanevansretail
To be more contemporary and to better address the health concerns of parents and consumer groups, McDonald’s has dramatically revamped its Happy Meal Web site. And it has a new mascot — Happy — to be used in place of Ronald McDonald for the Happy Meal.
McDonald's Happy Meal Site
It also has the Happy TV commercial shown below.

 
Yet, despite McDonald’s efforts, Tom Gara and Julie Garon of the Wall Street Journal believe the retailer’s critics will not be satisfied:
“There’s a new character in the age-old war over marketing fast food to children. Happy, the new mascot for McDonald’s kid-focused Happy Meal, is already getting a cold welcome from health campaigners, who have long targeted Ronald McDonald and the chain’s extensive advertising aimed at children. The introduction of Happy comes as McDonald’s tweaks its children’s menu to add more healthy options and makes a broader attempt to stay relevant in a market where healthy eating is becoming more of a priority. As part of the Happy launch, McDonald’s is adding low-fat yogurt as an option in its kids meals.”
“But Happy seems unlikely to win over those who complain about McDonald’s child-friendly tactics, which include giving away toys with meals, partnering with kids’ movies and cartoon characters and employing a clown and other child-friendly mascots.”

 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing, Video Clips (non-career) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

It’s Hard Being a Retail CEO — And Finding a New One

Posted on May 27, 2014 by bermanevansretail
It has been a tough few years for senior executives at several major retail chains as performance goals have not been met. And hiring the proper new CEOs has become quite difficult for some firms. Consider this: J.C. Penney, American Eagle Outfitters, and Target are all currently looking for new chief executives — Penney since summer 2013.
Why is so hard to find new retail CEOs? According to Paul Ziobro and Joann Lublin, writing for the Wall Street Journal:
“There isn’t a deep bench of executives who have good track records leading major retailers, so some companies have turned to foreign candidates and executives in other industries, like travel and consumer goods. ‘The half-life of retail leadership has diminished,’ said Mark Cohen, former chief executive of Sears Canada and now a professor at Columbia University. ‘The talent pool is thinner, talent capacity is less, and looking outside the industry is not going work.'”
Click the image for a WSJ video on the challenges of CEO hiring.


 

Posted in Careers in Retailing, Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 8: Putting It All Together, Video Clips (non-career) | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Growth of “Me-Commerce”: A Discussion and Infographic

Posted on May 26, 2014 by bermanevansretail
As we have written before, personalization has become an important competitive tool for retailers in today’s digital marketplace.
Consulting giant McKinsey offers many insights for retailers to consider regarding what it calls “Me-commerce”:
“Welcome to the world of  ‘Me-commerce,’ where retail success depends on meeting consumers’ ever-changing and increasingly demanding shopping habits. This shift to digital-enabled shopping has created massive pressures for traditional retailers. At one big-box company, for example, we calculated that a 5 percent reduction in revenue per square foot would lead to a 30 percent reduction in return on invested capital (ROIC). Embracing the me-commerce opportunity will not only allow retailers to navigate these headwinds but also open up significant rewards. Personalization — the foundation of Me-commerce — can deliver five to eight times the ROI on marketing spend, and lift sales 10 percent or more.”
“Many retailers have experimented and innovated to adapt to the demands of Me-commerce. In our experience, however, too many of these have been marginal adjustments rather than fundamental changes. Given the tremendous economic pressures building on retailers, marginal changes won’t be enough to survive. To succeed at ‘Me-commerce,’ we believe that today’s retailer must fuse technology and publishing. Operating like a technology company will allow retailers to effectively use Big Data and digital touchpoints to drive growth and reduce costs. At the same time, they must act like publishers to produce and manage content in real time across multiple platforms to create consistent, omnichannel experiences for their customers.”
Now, take a look at McKinsey’s infographic on “Do Stores Get Me?”

 

 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Part 8: Putting It All Together, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments