Frustrated by a bruising, and so far unsuccessful battle to open its first discount store in the nation’s largest city, Wal-Mart’s chief executive said yesterday, “I don’t care if we are ever here.”
retail
Walmart Gives Up: No Stores For New York City
By 3.28.07
The Pantheon of American Consumerism, Reborn! Mall of America to Double in Size
By 3.22.07
The Mall of America, once the largest mall in the USA, and already chock full of retail with its 520 stores, will be doubling in size, in an effort to reclaim the title.
Now Home Depot Wants To Be A Bank
By 3.19.07
Atlanta-based The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) also has applied to run its own bank…The bank would allow Home Depot to enable contractors to offer home improvement loans to their own remodeling customers.
Walmart Abandons Plan To Become A Bank
By 3.16.07
“Since the approval process is now likely to take years rather than months, we decided to withdraw our application to better focus on other ways to serve customers,” said Wal-Mart Financial Services President Jane Thompson in a statement.
CompUSA Won't Honor Rebates For Items Purchased At Closing Stores
By 3.13.07
Effective immediately, customers in closing stores are not eligible for CompUSA rebates, and manufacturer rebates will not be available. If an item was purchased prior to 2/27/07, and qualifies for a rebate, please follow the normal submission instructions located on your rebate form. The closing store will not participate in CompUSA’s national ads. However, the closing stores will have their own sales; pretty much every item in the store will be on sale, and the closing stores may have their own ads too.
Well, at least “pretty much every item in the store will be on sale.” You just don’t see enough use of the phrase “pretty much every” in store policies these days.—MEGHANN MARCO
Apple Stores Make $4,032 Per Square Foot
By 3.9.07
Saks, whose flagship is down the street, generates sales of $362 per square foot a year. Best Buy (Charts) stores turn $930 – tops for electronics retailers – while Tiffany & Co. (Charts) takes in $2,666.
Fortune also says that if Apple sells its goal of 10 million iPhones in 2008, Apple stores will make as much as Best Buy overall, in a fraction of the space.
Geek Squad Insider Speaks Out
By 3.9.07
A common refrain we hear from the former and current Geek Squad employees we’ve been talking to is that Geek Squad used to be awesome. Robert Stephens built up an award-winning company with a reputation for being the best in the business. Then he sold it to Best Buy and they turned it to garbage.
Best Buy Now Staffs Toll-Free Line With Live Humans
By 3.7.07
Did you know Best Buy got rid of their robot menus? Now when you call 1-888-BEST-BUY, all you have to do is press 2 and a human operator will direct your call. This is fantastic. Customers often cite being enraged by pushing button after button, especially when they’re already pissed off to begin with.
GAP CEO's Email Address
By 3.6.07
According to a tipster, this is the email address for the CEO of GAP: Bob_fisher_ceo@gap.com
Everyone Hates Home Depot
By 3.5.07
The stock market hates Home Depot. The stock holders hate Home Depot. The Media hates Home Depot. Our readers hate Home Depot.Everyone hates Home Depot.
Confirmed: CompUSA's "Fire Sales" Suck
By 3.4.07
Reader Dave writes in to confirm that CompUSA’s “fire sales” do, in fact, suck. Dave reports the soon-to-be-shuttered Monroeville, PA CompUSA is offering most items for 10% off MSRP. Some items sport discounts of up to – hold your breath – 20% off.
Walmart's 3 Customers
By 3.2.07
After a series of marketing and merchandise blunders, Walmart is trying to turn around its falling profits by breaking down existing customers into three groups and refocusing on these shoppers, NYT reports.
CompUSA's "Fire Sales" Expected To Suck
By 2.28.07
Don’t expect good deals at CompUSA store closings, reader Brian reiterates, as the liquidation company apparently has a history of being anti-consumer:
Goodbye, Forth & Towne, We Hardly Knew You…
By 2.27.07
Forth & Towne, designed to appeal to women between the ages of 35 and 50, was launched in August 2005. The stores featured larger, centrally located dressing rooms and were stocked with accessories, including handbags and shoes, to help women put together full outfits and drive impulse purchases.
HOW TO: Know If Your CompUSA Is Getting Liquidated
By 2.27.07
How do you know if your local CompUSA is one of 129 getting liquidated starting tomorrow? If it’s not on this list, it’s going out of business.
BREAKING: CompUSA Closing 128 Stores
By 2.27.07
CompUSA is closing 128 of 229 stores, a source familiar with the proceedings tells The Consumerist.
CompUSA Invented 53 Week Year So Execs Could Cash Big Bonuses?
By 2.27.07
CompUSA had a 53 week year last year, allowing upper management to reap large bonus checks, according to a company insider.
