The lava flow that has been moving towards the town of Pahoa since last June has now sadly forced the Longs Drugs there to close down. Even though the store is owned by CVS it’s still been run as a Longs and will be greatly missed by the community although it’s uncertain if there will Read More…
Author: RetailGuy
I have worked in retail for over 40 years. I've seen the good, the bad, the ugly, and the completely unbelievable.
Can I Get These Ironed, Too?
I’ve asked everyone to share their favorite customer stories and here’s one of mine. In the very first store that I worked in back in the 70’s, we had a safe in the front of the store (near the registers) with a big dial in the middle that looked something like this: So Read More…
Not On Target
You may have heard by now, but Target is pulling out of Canada, closing 133 stores. You may be wondering why it failed and here’s part of the reason why. It amazes me that a company can make such a colossal blunder. Target closing in Canada: These pictures show why it failed..
Sounds great, but will it clean the breakroom?
Lowe’s/OSH is testing out a robot to replace clerks and provide customer service to their customers. Scary stuff! The future is here and it looks a lot like Wall-E. What do you think? What could possibly go wrong? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp9176vm7Co The whole scary story is here.
Soylent Green for real?
It’s hard to believe that a company would actually use Soylent as the name of their product, but perhaps they didn’t see the movie. Soylent aims to make its nutritious sludge much cheaper than $3 a meal. And in case you weren’t around in 1973…
Retail Earthquake!
It seems like it happens every year but this year is bigger than in the past. Macy’s is closing 14 of its 790 stores across the country. JCPenney is closing 39 of its stores and laying off 2,250 workers. Sears has been around for 122 years, but it, too, is closing 235 under-performing stores. Wet Read More…
Head and Shoulders Above the rest
Today I did a planogram for shampoo and there are about 50 different SKU’s of Head and Shoulders. When I started in retail, there were two–shampoo, and conditioner. The newest one promises “Instant Relief” which makes me wonder if the dandruff flakes explode off your head after you put it on. No wonder our customers Read More…
Welcome!
Welcome to Re-Tales! If you have a story about shopping or working in retail, please share it! Please subscribe!! I can give you 6 good reasons to subscribe. Add Re-Tales.net to your bookmarks and check back. Please leave a comment if you have an opinion on something. Please don’t post any proprietary information on a Read More…
Top Retail Trends
Here’s one take on the trends in retail for the coming year. Retrofitting the Marketing function Emphasizing “store theatrics” Amplifying shopper connectivity Integrating buy online, pick up in store Focusing on shopper interactions Optimizing store format Is your company doing any of these? My store has no wi-fi, no online pickup and the “store Read More…
Employees Who Steal
I was once told that 5% of your employees are there to steal no matter what, 5% would NEVER steal no matter what, and the other 90% may or may not steal depending on need and how they are treated. It’s been my experience that those numbers are accurate. According to Jack Hayes International, One Read More…