Monthly Archives: March 2011

Mar30

How to know when your brand needs a heart transplant

By Margaret Case Little, Director, Communications | Published: March 30, 2011

Be the first to comment | Posted in Education, Events, Marketing, Retail Companies

A company rebrand can feel painfully similar to a heart transplant. And according to Ken Schmidt, rebuilding a brand should be just as “thought-out and thorough” as the most delicate of surgeries. After all, it’s the heart of the company you’re dealing with. Ken Schmidt knows a thing or two about rebrands. Credited with the [...]

Posted in: Education | Events | Marketing | Retail Companies Tagged brand campaigns, consumer perception, Customer Experience, customer support, employee retention, Harley-Davidson, Ken Schmidt, My Macy's, rebrand, sales personnel, Supply Chain '11, transaction figures, Volvo Rents, work culture |

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Mar25

NRF Loss Prevention Conference to highlight need for crisis planning

By Joe LaRocca, Senior Asset Protection Advisor | Published: March 25, 2011

Be the first to comment | Posted in Events, Loss Prevention

Over the past two weeks, our thoughts and prayers have poured out to the people of Japan and others impacted by the earthquake and tsunami. Following the disaster, retailers sprung into action providing food, water and other supplies, while trying to locate and respond to the needs of their own employees. As part of a [...]

Posted in: Events | Loss Prevention Tagged crisis, crisis planning, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, FEMA, GameStop, Janet Napolitano, Juniper Networks, LP11, National Level Exercise, Sears Holding Corporation, Starbucks |

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Mar25

Execs talk advertising trends and opportunities

By Sarah Rand, Senior Director, NRF | Published: March 25, 2011

1 Comment | Posted in Events, Marketing

From magazines to banner ads, there are more opportunities for retail advertising today than ever before. That certainly doesn’t mean retailers are trading in the old for the new. More traditional print mediums are still a big part of a marketing campaigns, even as digital options have exploded on to the scene. During the NRF’s [...]

Posted in: Events | Marketing Tagged AdRoll, advertising, AOL, Innovate 11, John Brown Media, Microsoft, National Advertising Bureau |

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Mar24

NRF President responds to Wall Street Journal editorial on swipe fee reform

By Craig Shearman, VP, Government Affairs PR | Published: March 24, 2011

Be the first to comment | Posted in Public Policy

The Wall Street Journal last week wrote a scathing, one-sided editorial headlined “Debit Card Debacle” that repeated misinformation spread by the banking industry about swipe fee reform while refusing to acknowledge how reform will benefit consumers. This morning, the Journal published a letter to the editor from NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay that refuted the [...]

Posted in: Public Policy Tagged banking, congressional hearings, credit card fees, debit card fees, debit cards, Dodd-Frank, Durbin Amendment, Government Accountability Office, Matthew Shay, swipe fees, Wall Street Journal |

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Mar23

Health reform’s anniversary — marking a missed opportunity

By Neil Trautwein, VP, Health Care | Published: March 23, 2011

3 Comments | Posted in Health Care, Public Policy

Today marks the one-year anniversary since passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA; later shortened to the Affordable Care Act or ACA). However, I’m not sure that retailers are in all that much of a mood to celebrate this occasion. We mourn the opportunity this law missed to focus on [...]

Posted in: Health Care | Public Policy Tagged employer mandates, health care, health care costs, health care reform, health reform |

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Mar17

NRF collaborates with ICSC for its 2011 Loss Prevention Conference

By Joe LaRocca, Senior Asset Protection Advisor | Published: March 17, 2011

1 Comment | Posted in Events, Loss Prevention

These days would you ever rent a room to a complete stranger? Of course not! To further our industry partnerships, the National Retail Federation is pleased to announce an expansion of its LP conference networking and education opportunities with members of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Security Committee. The committee will now be [...]

Posted in: Events | Loss Prevention Tagged 2011 LP Conference, educational content, FBI, ICE, ICSC, Joe LaRocca, law enforcement agencies, NRF Fusion Center, organized retail crime |

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Mar16

Myth or fact? The truth about swipe fees

By Craig Shearman, VP, Government Affairs PR | Published: March 16, 2011

2 Comments | Posted in Public Policy, Video

With the big banks fighting hard to delay or repeal debit card swipe fee reform and legislation to do so introduced this week, there’s a lot of misinformation being spread around Washington lately. It’s time to set things straight. Community Banks The banking industry’s wildest false claim is that mid-sized and small banks will somehow [...]

Posted in: Public Policy | Video Tagged banking, banks, community banks, Credit Card, debit card, Dodd-Frank, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Durbin Amendment, interchange, National Retail Federation, NRF, swipe fees |

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Mar15

Multichannel retailing provides supply chain opportunities

By Jon Gold, VP, Supply Chain | Published: March 15, 2011

Be the first to comment | Posted in Education, Retail Companies, Video

While retail supply chains will once again face challenges this year, from both a regulatory and operational perspective, these challenges will present themselves as opportunities, especially when it comes to multichannel retailing. Retailers will take the opportunity in 2011 to look at how to better manage their operating expenses in an effort to better support [...]

Posted in: Education | Retail Companies | Video Tagged channel proliferation, customer expectations, Dennis Cohen, Inside the Supply Chain, inventory management, multichannel, Office Depot, operating expenses, operational efficiencies, Polo Ralph Lauren, retail supply chain, Russ LoCurto, Supply Chain '11 |

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Mar14

New Era revamps website for their social shoppers

By Sarah Rand, Senior Director, NRF | Published: March 14, 2011

Be the first to comment | Posted in Education, Events, Retail Companies, Retail Trends

Forty-nine percent of shoppers read reviews, but don’t write their own. Twenty-one percent read and contribute reviews. Barkley‘s Mark Logan shared those stats during an INNOVATE ’11 session on social shopping. These “social shoppers” tend to be more social in other areas as well. The consumers writing reviews are also posting videos, fanning pages, commenting [...]

Posted in: Education | Events | Retail Companies | Retail Trends Tagged Bakley, Innovate 11, Mark Logan, New Era, social shopping, targeted audience, websites |

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Mar11

The retail potential of Facebook credits

By Scott Krugman, VP and NRF spokesperson | Published: March 11, 2011

5 Comments | Posted in Education, Events, Retail Trends, Video

Facebook credits have the potential to revolutionize the social networking experience… as soon as retailers figure out how to leverage them. There are only a handful of companies playing this space right now, but after hearing Jay Feitlinger, Founder and Digital Marketing Strategist with StringCan Interactive, that number is likely to increase exponentially in the [...]