retail

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>

Columbia Sportswear's 'Tough Mother' Foils Burglar

Gert Boyle, 86, tricked robber who roughed her up

(Newser) - Gert Boyle, chairperson of Columbia Sportswear and the "one tough mother" of its ad campaigns, lived up to her motto when she calmly outwitted an armed burglar, the Oregonian reports. The 86-year-old was immediately suspicious of the man who showed up at her door bearing a gift basket. She...

Walmart Rolls Out Free Shipping

No minimum purchase. Online retailers gulp.

(Newser) - Walmart just got cheaper: The retail giant today rolls out free shipping on its website with no minimum purchase, reports the New York Times. With cost-conscious consumers 55% somewhat likely to back out of a purchase if they have to pay for shipping, the move puts a ton of pressure...

When Did Halloween Turn Sexy?

It all started in Greenwich Village in the '70s

(Newser) - Ever wondered when Halloween shifted from spooky to sexy? Somewhere in the 1970s, explains Juliet Lapidos for Slate. New York’s Greenwich Village launched its annual Halloween parade in 1973, an event that quickly became popular among the local gay community, who largely attended in drag and other sexy outfits....

Wal-Mart to Storm Big Cities With Small Stores

Retailer makes a pitch to urban America

(Newser) - Wal-Mart is looking to take Manhattan—as well as large US cities—by opening a slew of small- and mid-sized stores in urban America, the Wall Street Journal reports. Wal-Marts as small as 30,000 square feet—six times smaller than the average "supercenter"—are headed to unfamiliar...

Sorry About That Donation: Target CEO
 Sorry About 
 That Donation: 
 Target CEO 
mea culpa
Aug 6, 2010 8:01 AM CDT

Sorry About That Donation: Target CEO

Gregg Steinhafel apologizes, but doesn't renounce donation

(Newser) - Responding to the boycott of his company , Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel apologized to employees for donating to political group MN Forward, which supports right-wing politician Tom Emmer. The intent “was to support economic growth and job creation,” he wrote , but the “decision affected many of you in...

MoveOn.org: Boycott Target
 MoveOn.org: Boycott Target 
Aug 4, 2010 11:14 AM CDT

MoveOn.org: Boycott Target

Retailer's donation to anti-gay marriage candidate sparks controversy

(Newser) - MoveOn.org has asked its members to boycott Target, in response to a $150,000 donation the retail giant gave to a PAC supporting ultra-conservative Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. The group tells Reuters it’s already gotten 200,000 members to sign up for the boycott. “Most Americans...

Wal-Mart Wants to Conquer Rest of World Now

Slow domestic demand shifts megastore's focus abroad

(Newser) - Wal-Mart may be quintessentially American, but the chain's focus is becoming increasingly international. With the US consumer listless and purchasing power growing—despite the recession—in many developing countries, Wal-Mart is following demand abroad. Its international division reached $100 billion in sales last year, and the company will soon have...

Wal-Mart Yanks Toxin-Tainted Miley Cyrus Jewelry

AP investigation finds high levels of cadmium

(Newser) - Wal-Mart is yanking a line of Miley Cyrus bracelets and necklaces after an Associated Press investigation turned up dangerous levels of toxic cadmium in the jewelry. Long-term exposure to cadmium, a known carcinogen, can lead to bone softening and kidney failure, and hinder brain development in the young. It's only...

Tech Losers of the '00s
 Tech Losers of the '00s
Decade in Review
Dec 31, 2009 2:13 PM CST

Tech Losers of the '00s

From AOL to Motorola to Circuit City, these companies couldn't keep up

(Newser) - It’s been an amazing decade for technology, but not everyone came out ahead. CrunchGear considers the big losers of the '00s, starting with the biggest: Brick and mortar retailers. Once consumers learned to trust online merchants, lots of stores—we’re looking at you Circuit City and CompUSA—went...

Coke, Costco Bury the Hatchet
 Coke, Costco Bury the Hatchet 
cola wars
Dec 10, 2009 1:51 PM CST

Coke, Costco Bury the Hatchet

Bulk retailer, beverage titan reconcile pricing dispute

(Newser) - Coca-Cola and Costco have ironed out a pricing dispute that kept the warehouse chain from restocking its shelves with the soda titan's products for over a month. Coke devotees should be seeing their favorite beverages at the stores soon, Costco CFO Richard Galanti said. "Our sign on shelves—'Until...

Parents Fall to Pieces Over Unassembled Toys
 Parents Fall 
 to Pieces Over 
 Unassembled Toys 
THanks for nothing, IKEA
Dec 3, 2009 11:35 AM CST

Parents Fall to Pieces Over Unassembled Toys

Construction toy sales booming, but then you have to build them

(Newser) - Toys that required assembly were once an end in themselves, and their elaborate instructions made the process fun. These days, parents shopping for their kids don’t have much of a choice. “Toys do have more parts today,” a store owner tells the New York Times . Shipping flat...

Holiday Shoppers Ditched Credit Cards

Most used cash or debit cards to snag bargains

(Newser) - Recession-strapped Americans may have developed a plastic allergy—only 26% of Thanksgiving weekend shoppers used credit cards. Though consumers proved willing to spend over the holiday weekend, they seem to be changing how they spend: a whopping 39% used old-fashioned greenbacks, with debit cards making up the rest, according to...

Black Friday Brings Out the Shoppers

Consumers not too downtrodden for 5am campouts

(Newser) - Economic woes didn’t prevent shoppers from camping out outside stores across the country this morning, as retailers offered especially deep Black Friday discounts. Most opened early as well, with some, including Wal-Mart and many Old Navy stores, opening yesterday to get a jump on things. Toys R Us opened...

Requiem for the Soft Sell of the Catalog

As retailers focus online, the 'serene' paper version will be missed

(Newser) - Greg Beato couldn’t care less about the impending demise of print stalwarts like newspapers and magazines, but he will shed a tear when the flood of mail-order catalogs in his mailbox slows to a trickle. Where online shopping is “largely functional,” and TV ads “noisy and...

How Twilight Rescued Hot Topic
 How Twilight 
 Rescued Hot Topic 
bloodthirsty
Nov 20, 2009 11:34 AM CST

How Twilight Rescued Hot Topic

Goth retail mainstay is relevant again thanks to books, films

(Newser) - Like much of America, Ylan Q. Mui had forgotten all about Hot Topic, the mall mainstay for baby Goth merchandise—and then Twilight came along and made the store relevant again. The uber-popular vampire franchise “accomplished what the store had tried but failed to do: It made goth mainstream,...

JC Penney Ditching 'Big Book' Catalog

Oversize book was a relic in Internet age

(Newser) - Retailer JC Penney is discontinuing its Big Book—the 1,000-page catalog as big as a telephone book—as customers increasingly buy from jcp.com. The Penney Big Book has long been a cultural fixture for many, but younger customers aren't following suit. "It was an outdated way of...

iPhone Users Get Leg Up on Black Friday

App lets shoppers check deals, and rumored deals

(Newser) - If you’re already getting your Black Friday game face on, consider making the Black Friday app the first thing on your shopping list. The free program from dealnews can keep you up to date on both officially announced bargains and deals that have “leaked,” and lets you...

Women Drive Recovery, But Dissed By Retail

Biz approach to females: take 'a male product and paint it pink'

(Newser) - Women who shop til they drop are stimulating the economy more than any Ben Bernanke, but the planet's greatest spending bloc feels dissed by retailers and service providers. Women control $20 trillion in annual consumer spending in the world—a figure likely to climb to $28 trillion by 2014. Despite...

Be Balloon Boy for Halloween
 Be Balloon Boy for Halloween 
Oct 22, 2009 5:38 PM CDT

Be Balloon Boy for Halloween

Canadian company hawks costume

(Newser) - It was inevitable: a Canadian model airplane company is selling “Balloon Boy” Halloween costumes on its website. For $19.99, you get a 38-inch mylar balloon with a small gondola. Supply your own helium, cardboard box, and string, notes ABC Denver. "Now you, too, can enjoy all the...

Target Will Pay Shoppers to Bring Their Own Bags
 Target Will Pay Shoppers
 to Bring Their Own Bags 
green & green
Oct 19, 2009 2:31 PM CDT

Target Will Pay Shoppers to Bring Their Own Bags

Large retailers join smaller niche stores to offer rebates for reusing

(Newser) - Target and CVS will reward customers for using reusable shopping bags, and the efforts could take a billion plastic bags out of circulation. Though some retailers—notably Wal-Mart—have been slow to hop on the eco bandwagon, initiatives at smaller chains such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have met...

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