The graphic below is a funny mall-directory-like map that shows retail concepts that have either gone out of business or are on the brink with descriptions of their situation. We especially like this statement about Spencer Gifts: "Specializing in all things unnecessary, Spencer's is what Brookstone would...
Pier 1 just posted a $29-million first-quarter profit. Who would've guessed? Of course, net sales dropped 9.3% and same-store sales were down 7.5% year over year. But even those results weren't as bad as projected. "The sales declines are getting smaller," said Alex Smith, the company's president and...
Now that Circuit City is gone, Best Buy has another target for dominance in the consumer-electronics space. Except this time it's Wal-Mart. A new Best Buy ad campaign features a customer calling one of its stores about details on a television. The person is calling from a Wal-Mart. Says the Best Buy...
So earlier this week, we posted an item about someone's creative way of stealing beer at Wal-Mart. It turns out that, coincidentally, it's really part of a bigger national trend. A recent survey says that "shrink" in 2008 increased for the first time in six years, with total losses hitting $36.5 billion....
Fresh & Easy, UK-based Tesco's 10,000-square-foot grocery concept in the US, had booming same-store sales growth in its latest quarter, up 30% to 40% year over year, company officials recently reported. The chain is still growing, too. Tesco's management is planning 60 new stores this year, bringing...
A man in Myrtle Beach, SC, tried to steal beer from a Wal-Mart by concealing it in rolls of toilet paper, according to this report. And on top of that, he was allegedly busted for pot possession when he was caught. Ouch. So this will be our lesson of the week: Don't steal beer from Wal-Mart. At least...