John’s Blog

Last year I wrote an article on the trend in Pop Up retailing. This is where a retailer sets up a business for a few weeks, trades and then closes down and moves to another location. Obviously, pop up retailing is very popular with sports and events, where the retailer has a large, captive audience […]

Over the last couple of decades we have been told that globalisation is the way forward. Retailing became international and China became the world�s factory, but the tide is beginning to change and now is the era of ‘Neighbour to Neighbour’ marketing. It is time to promote local. Consumers are becoming more concerned with the

The aim of any retailer is to maximise their profits by obtaining the maximum gross profit in relation to the maximum stock turn. Pricing a product and putting it on the shelf to gather dust is the role of a �caretaker� not a retailer. The role of a retailer is to create some urgency in

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