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Jeff Green Partners

A LEADER IN RETAIL REAL ESTATE FEASIBILITY

jgreen@jeffgreenpartners.com

415-847-1770

Target

School shoppers put low prices 1st

Rick Rommell & Kylie Gumbert / Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel – WEST MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The giant pencil cutouts screaming “One Big Sale Here” throughout the Target store are a dead giveaway: This is the country’s second-biggest shopping season.

And for the great majority of Americans, the annual back-to-school extravaganza is unfolding across an increasingly price-sensitive landscape.

Cash-strapped, middle-class parents are being economically challenged by ever-growing lists that have expanded beyond protractors and No. 2 pencils to include graphing calculators, flash drives and Handi Wipes.

Retailers, meanwhile, have started a wave of promotions as they vie more and more on price alone — potentially pinching their bottom lines and signaling a hypercompetitive environment for the critical holiday season just three months away.

Shoppers hit stores on first day of tax-free weekend

Gary Dinges / Austin American Statesman – Aug. 08–Bargain hunters of all ages swarmed Central Texas stores Friday, the first day of the state’s tax-free weekend.

Through Sunday, retailers aren’t charging state and local sales taxes on most clothing and school supplies priced less than $100. In most cities, including Austin, that means shoppers will save 8.25 cents for each dollar they spend.

Over the course of the three-day weekend, the state comptroller’s office estimates Texans will save $82.7 million.

Middle-class shoppers more sensitive to back-to-school supply costs

Rick Romell and Kylie Gumbert / Miwaukee Journal-Sentinel – The giant pencil cutouts screaming “One Big Sale Here” throughout the Target store on Miller Park Way are a dead giveaway: This is the country’s second-biggest shopping season.

And for the great majority of Americans, the annual back-to-school extravaganza is unfolding across an increasingly price-sensitive landscape.

Cash-strapped, middle-class parents are being economically challenged by ever-growing lists that have expanded beyond protractors and No. 2 pencils to include graphing calculators, flash drives and Handi Wipes.

Follow the Leadership

There have been more than a few headline-grabbing leadership transitions in the retail world recently. And, to be honest, “transitions” might be too gentle of a euphemism: some big names from some big-name brands have left, been fired, forced out, voted off the board, or otherwise pressured to step down in the last few months.

On the surface, it seems like the ousted leaders mentioned in this edition of Retail Rap left for different reasons; from Target’s CEO’s exit in the aftermath of the high-profile credit card theft/scandal last December to various CEOs leaving due to series of alleged transgressions ranging from the pedestrian to the bizarre. It strikes me that, beneath the public reasons cited for the departure of each of the CEOs discussed, there is a larger story of poor financial performance and ongoing uncertainty.

In this edition of Retail Rap, I dive into the public version of each big “transition” while questioning if something bigger is attributed to each of their exits.

Smal-Mart?

In my last column, I discussed some of the major trends that I see becoming a factor in 2014, with one of those being the continued movement for retailers to shrink their physical footprints. Most prominently, Target and Wal-Mart have begun exploring this option—specifically in urban markets where space is at a premium. In this […]