2007

By John Stanley Independent retailers have often found it difficult over the last decade . Global retailer have gained market share and as a result many small business have gone by the wayside. But, we need only to look at the retail mix more closely to see that the small business is still thriving. If […]

25% of Americans do not read any books ….. this must be an opportunity. Research reported on CNN August 21st, 2007

By John Stanley The Velvet Revolution of 1989 in the Czech Republic changed the dynamics of the market completely in this country. Prior to 1989 the country was governed by Communist Russia and gardening was not a priority for the 20million inhabitants. Today Czech is a thriving democracy as the growing wealth is resulting in

Halloween is nearly upon us. Disneyland celebrates the event in an exciting way. A walk around Disneyland will provide theme ideas that you can use in your store. John Stanley is an internationally recognised conference speaker and retail consultant with over 25 years experience in 18 countries. He has authored several successful marketing and retail

I promised myself that I would visit the Whole Foods store while in the UK. This store in Kensington is their first site in the UK. For those who are not familiar with them, they are the fresh food retailer from the USA; they are taking the market by storm in that country and in

By Fiona Emberton www.embervision.cc Brisbane (nicknamed BrisVegas for it’s glitzy image) in Australia is to be the host for the 2010 IFLA congress. Well done to the ALIA (Aussie Library Association) team including Sue Hutley its Director. I have lived in Brisbane for over 15 years and it’s unbeatable for friendliness and a lovely way

Following news that Paula Ryan will present a workshop at the librarians’ national conference, to encourage librarians to update their style and image, Christchurch City (NZ) library staff dressed up in the William Morris smocks they used to wear in the 1960s. See the attached picture, and let it never be said again that librarians

Ref: Toronto Star, Living, 22 August 2007 According to research released in August 2007 by USA’s AMP Agency, women are creatures of habit when they go shopping. The way they shop is as Gen X shoppers will stay with them for the rest of their lives. In the USA 92% of all adult women and

Ref: The London Independent, 13th September 07, By Martin Hickman Consumer Affairs Correspondent The era of spend, spend, spend is coming to an end. Britain’s shoppers, who for years have been racking up debt on credit cards and home loans with abandon, are finally starting to cut back on their expenditure. A slew of economic

Ref: The Belfast Telegraph, Thursday, September 13, 2007, By Karen Attwood Chocolate fountains and the reintroduction of “old favourites” has helped the new management at Thorntons reverse a sales decline. Mike Davies, who joined the chocolatier as chief executive from Mars in October last year, said yesterday that Thorntons had been focusing on improving its