Von Maur Looking to Become a National Department Store Chain

Von Maur is a very popular Midwestern U.S. department store chain with a loyal customer following. Now, the chain has more ambitious plans to expand its geographic coverage.
Recently, Von Maur was the subject of a Chain Store Age cover story by Katherine Boccaccio. After many decades in business, Von Maur was transformed nearly 25 years ago. The retailer “operated under various names until 1989, when it became simply Von Maur, but was contained in Iowa and Illinois until the mid-1990s, when it expanded its geographic reach into Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Nebraska, then into Michigan and Ohio a decade later. Today, under the leadership of the von Maur family — co-chairmen Charles and Richard, and president Jim — the privately-held company is continuing to grow. The first Von Maur store in metro Atlanta opened in November 2011 at North Point Mall, joined by a second — at Perimeter Mall — a year later. Supplementing the 27 open-and-operating stores are full-line department stores in the works for The Corners in Brookfield, Wis.; Eastview Mall in Rochester, N.Y.; Quail Springs Mall in Oklahoma City; and Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Ala.”
Click the Von Maur store interior image from Chain Store Age to read more.

 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 4: Store Location Planning, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Part 8: Putting It All Together | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Moms and Mobile Shopping

According to a 2013 survey by Alliance Data,  the majority of U.S. moms said that they used a smartphone or tablet at least once a week during the shopping process — for research and/or buying. More than one-third of the respondents reported using a mobile device daily for some of their shopping (again, research and/or buying). 
Take a look at this chart to see the most popular product categories for mobile shopping by U.S. moms. Click the chart to read more from eMarketer.

 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mobile Media and Comparison Shopping

We know that consumers do more comparison shopping than ever before — both online and in the store.
To get an idea of how much comparison shopping through mobile media has grown, take a look at the following data and click on the chart to learn more.

 

 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment