March 2007

I was recently having breakfast in a restaurant in Johannesburg South Africa. Whilst enjoying my morning caffine shot a police BMW car drove up at around 25km an hour with blue lights flashing. Like every other diner I was puzzled and slightly amused at what was happening. Three burly policemen came out and walked through […]

One of the most commonly debatable subjects in my workshops is the role of a guarantee. There are those that think they are essential and those that believe they are the curse of retailing and that the consumer always abuses them. In my view a guarantee is part of the marketing budget and should be

by Collin Dunn, Seattle on 02.20.07 Starting March 15, all IKEA stores in the US will charge a nickel per plastic bag in an effort to get people to haul their Swedish Fish and affordable housewares out of the store in reusable bags and cut down on plastic bag waste. Proceeds of up to $1.75

Ref: The Weekender South Africa Posted to the web on: 17 March 2007 by PATRICK BURNETT A NEW debate over environmentally friendly food in the UK, a major market for South African fresh fruit and vegetables, has raised concern about possible knock-on effects for the local export industry. Major UK supermarket chain Tesco announced last

The Salinas Valley in California is often called the salad bowl of the USA. The rich soils, level land, a ready source of labour and a superb climate make it the ideal growing area. The fruit and vegetable industry started in the 1850�s with apples being exported to Europe. Today apples, artichokes, beets, spinach and

Since my first visit to the USA in 1976 I have seen the slow decline of customer service across the country. In the 70�s I admired their customer service and it was a place to learn new techniques. Since then it has slowly declined, mainly due to the low wages of people in this part

Have you caught up with Time Magazine 12 March 2007 yet? If not you should get a copy. You cannot miss it in the newsagents, it is the one with a big apple on the cover. When you get it you should read the article by John Cloud. In my presentations the issues I have

Ref: www.gov.ns.ca February 21, 2007 12:34 Consumers want more Nova Scotia products and they want to see retailers and government purchase more Nova Scotia goods. The findings of the 2,400-person survey were released today, Feb. 21, by the Women’s Institutes of Nova Scotia, with the support of the Department of Agriculture. “We know the importance

Over the last few years we have seen the growth of domestic landscape design,mainly driven by the Do It For Me Baby Boomer Generation. This is the generation that helped build the garden centre business over the last twenty years. They have now left garden centre to attract the Jones generation and Generation X. Both

According to Small Business Trends blog, the top ten trends for 2007 are as follows: By Cheryl Russell, New Strategist Publications It is not easy to figure out what Americans do with their money. First, you have to ask enough people so that the answers are statistically representative. Second, those you ask must keep tedious