In the United States, Labor Day has been celebrated since 1882 — yes, for 135 years. In honor of Labor Day 2017, we offer this fun post with lots of interesting facts and trivia. 🙂 Sorry to those of you working in retail who are on the job today allowing other workers to take advantage of Labor Day sales. 😦
[Note: The source of each image is noted in the image; and clicking on the image shows a larger view.]
McDonald’s and Coke know many consumers want healthy food and beverages. As a result, they added to their healthy offerings. Our posts on healthy foods include these. McDonald’s: Healthier Menu Still a Work in Progress.  Are YOU Prepared for Today’s Health-Conscious Consumer?   Dutch Supermarket Plus: Getting Kids to Eat Their Veggies. Likewise, firms make healthy cereal due to presumed interest. An example of this is General Mills with Trix healthy cereal.
In 1954, General Mills introduced Trix as a sugar-coated version of Kix. The “Trix is for kids” slogan dates to 1957!! Trix is popular enough for Family Guy to spoof it an episode.
In 2016, General Mills decided to remove the original Trix. The firm replaced it with a natural version. General Mills thought was a great idea. To the contrary, it it did not work. Why? Kids loved Trix as it was, not the new version.
In sum, as Wall Street Journal‘s Annie Gasparro reports:
“Yes, some consumers are clamoring for cold-pressed beet juice, and quinoa chips. But that doesn’t mean they don’t also want Red 40, Blue 1, and Yellow 6. General Mills learned this lesson the hard way. It started selling all-natural Trix in early 2016. It is made instead with radishes, purple carrots, and turmeric.”
General Mills is going to reintroduce the original Trix, artificial flavorings and all. It will go on sale alongside the more wholesome version in October. This reverses the firm’s’ pledge remove artificial colors and flavors from all cereals. It said its 7 all-natural cereals boosted sales by 6% in early 2016. At the same time, natural-ingredient haters made calls, E-mails, and social-media posts. It turns out consumers ‘don’t all want one thing.”
This image shows the look of natural Trix (left) and original Trix (right).
Photo: Ackerman + Gruber for Wall Street Journal
This image shows the packaging of natural Trix (left) and original Trix (right).
Image by Star Tribune
While many retailers have been laying off employees due to disappointing results, Amazon has been hiring thousands of new employees. Click here to see Amazon’s open jobs, divided into three sections — university recruiting, fulfillment center hiring, and remote career opportunities.
According to Amazon’s Miriam Park, writing for Fast Company:
“As a job candidate, having the right ‘hard skills’ is a critical prerequisite for any role at just about any company. But especially for recent grads, technical expertise alone isn’t what’s going to help you stand out in a job market where so many of your peers are talking up the same exact credentials. You’ll need at least two other things in order to gain an edge: first, those ‘soft skills’ you keep hearing about – like communication, problem-solving, and collaboration – and second, a few clear signs that you’re a fit for the specific work culture of the company you want to hire you.”
“As Amazon’s director of University Recruiting, these are a few things I like to look for that candidates don’t always know to add to their resumes, mention during job interviews, or even write about on hiring assessments.”
“(1) SIGNS THAT YOU’RE CURIOUS. We want to hire people who don’t rest on their laurels when it comes to personal and professional development – they constantly forge ahead, building new skills by asking new questions about whatever piques their curiosity. (2) A BIG RISK YOU TOOK. Amazon’s most loved products have been the brainchildren of calculated risk-takers–employees who have looked at an opportunity, understood the risks, and been bold enough to push forward. (3) SOMETHING YOU THOUGHT UP YOURSELF. Being able to complete tasks and projects effectively and on time is important–that’s a given. But so is bringing new ideas, products, and solutions to the table. (4)  A TIME YOU PUT THE CUSTOMER FIRST. (You knew this one was coming, didn’t you?) Amazon is famously focused on being the world’s most customer-centric company, so every decision we make starts with the customer and works backward from there.”Â
Click the image to read more from Amazon’s Park.
[Photo: David Ryder/Getty Images]
Retailing: From A to Z 