Nordstrom Tries an Extreme Makeover

Although Nordstrom has been a leading upscale retailer for decades, it has decided that it needs to revamp some of its business practices.
As Cotten Timberlake writes in Businessweek: “In Nordstrom’s case, it’s a matter of wooing more fashion-conscious women. Since the recession, many female shoppers have been buying fewer clothes—bad news for a chain that generates about a third of its more than $10 billion in annual sales from ladies’ apparel. To get women excited about shaking up their wardrobes again, Pete Nordstrom, the president of merchandising, has cut a deal to sell clothes from Topshop, a London-based retailer known for mid-priced trendy styles—punk-inspired pinafores and ladylike tweed—that defy easy characterization. It’s the sort of fashion people don’t expect to find at Nordstrom. And it could draw in new customers—or turn off existing ones.”
Click the photo for the full Businessweek story.

Illustration by Sophia Martineck
Posted in Global Retailing, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

What’s Wrong with the U.S. Supermarket Business?

The supermarket industry continues to face tough competition. As reported in the Wall Street Journal: “Squeezed by Wal-Mart, high operating costs, and thin margins, traditional supermarket chains are struggling to compete for consumers dollars. The latest casualty: Supervalu shares plunged 44 percent.”
Watch this Wall Street Journal video to learn more. [Note: There is a brief ad at the beginning of the video.]

Graphic by Alberto Cervantes/Wall Street Journal
Posted in Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 8: Putting It All Together, Video Clips (non-career) | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Retailers Now Tracking Shoppers’ Eye Movements

To determine more about what spurs shoppers’ decisions, retailers are experimenting with eye-tracking technology.
Watch this Wall Street Journal video to learn more. [Note: There is a brief ad at the beginning of the video.]

Photo by Getty Images
Posted in Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Video Clips (non-career) | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment