If the ongoing digitization of food retail were a baseball game, the industry is in the second inning. With the game just underway, what is your company's plan for bringing your business into the digital information age?
Linda Filler, former president, retail, of Walgreen's, recommends focusing on your company's most important values. For instance, if a retailer's unique selling proposition is convenience, use digital tools to improve the checkout experience. If it's variety, make that the priority for your digital investments. And, of course, if it's price -- which it is for many retailers -- start there. Read more.
It's hard to believe, but October 2019 will mark four years since the card brand-imposed liability shift went into effect, requiring retailers to invest significant time, resources and capital to accept chip cards in their stores. FMI witnessed and heard firsthand from many of our members the challenges the arbitrary deadline created and the unnecessary expenses it cost their stores. The good news is, most of FMI's members report being EMV compliant and are seeing some degree of reduced chargebacks for fraudulent cards being used in stores. Now that we are mostly over the EMV hurdle, what's next on the payment horizon? Read more.
The first Food Retailing Industry Speaks report appeared in 1949. Seventy years later, this report continues to provide the industry with important benchmarks, facts and figures that are used in our advocacy work on Capitol Hill, in conversations with the media and by our members desiring to make informed business decisions.
In 1949, an amazing 64% of the industry responded to the first survey. We need your help to get your company to respond this year. Contact Steve Markenson to learn how your company can participate. We want as many voices as possible to Speak.
Leaders who take time for weekly reflection -- and encourage their teams to do the same -- will see an improvement in overall performance, writes Alaina Love, CEO of Purpose Linked Consulting. Take a walk outside, she recommends, and journal about any insights.
Robots are rolling out across the restaurant and food retail landscape, from machines making burgers and serving coffee to autonomous cars for grocery delivery to robots baking bread in supermarkets. The robots that will succeed will be the ones that add enough value to justify their costs, robotics experts said at the ArticulATE summit.
Walmart is stressing grocery as the focal point of its growth strategy in China, where it plans to grow from 23 to 40 Sam's Club stores by next year. The retailer has teamed with e-commerce player JD.com to stake a claim in the fast-growing, competitive field of grocery delivery in China.
Fashion brand Parker NY will launch a mommy-and-me test collection for Mother's Day, to appeal to the more than 50% of its customers who are moms. The brand, which sells online and through retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue, will debut the line with two styles for moms and two for daughters.
Sustainable footwear brand Allbirds has created a carbon fund to offset its carbon footprint. The company will contribute 10 cents to the fund for each pair of sneakers it makes, and the money will go toward planting trees, air purification and clean-energy projects.
Denim brand Wrangler has created a line of high-end jeans made with sustainable cotton that's traceable to the five US farms where it was grown. The Wrangler Rooted line comes in five styles, one for each state where the farms are located, and sell for $100 a pair.
There's no such thing as communicating too much, but leaders must communicate effectively by telling inspiring stories and engaging all levels of the organization, writes Robert Ford, president of The Ford Consultancy Group. "When leadership communication is absent during change, as an individual it is the loudest, clearest most powerful message heard," he says.