1. Trends & External Forces

FaceTime with the Content Guy:  Local Heroes

Written by Posted on Less than 0 min read

Is local always better?  What really happens when big chains come to town?  And why is North Dakota the place where Local Actually Happens?  Those are the questions that got me thinking about the nature of competition.

The post FaceTime with the Content Guy:  Local Heroes appeared first on MNB.

View Original Article
Member since
For more than 30 years, Kevin Coupe has been bringing to readers and audiences a wealth of experience, sharp storytelling skills, provocative and contextual insights, unique worldview and serious levity about the world of business and consumers. https://morningnewsbeat.com
Do you like MorningNewsBeat's articles? Follow on social!

More from MorningNewsBeat

  1. Department: Food

Walmart Invests In Vertical Farming Business

Walmart said this week that it is investing in Plenty, an indoor vertical farming company, as part of Plenty’s $400M Series E funding round. The announcement says that “Walmart’s equity investment is part of a broader strategic partnership to utilize Plenty’s indoor vertical farming technology platform to deliver fresh produce to Walmart retail stores … […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Technology & Innovation

White House Issues Executive Order On AI Development

Axios reports that “the Biden administration’s long-awaited executive order on artificial intelligence will require developers of the most powerful AI systems to share critical testing information with the government.” According to the story, “Companies developing models that pose serious risks to public health and safety, the economy or national security will have to notify the […]
3 min read
0
  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital

FedEx To Furlough Drivers Just Before Holiday Season Begins

Fox Business reports that “FedEx Freight, the company’s less-than-truckload arm unit, says an unspecified number of its employees will be furloughed in early December to match lower-than-expected demand. “The furloughs will last around three months. During this time, workers will still receive health benefits and may file for unemployment benefits with the state.” The story […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Channel: Drug

Walgreens Pivots To Store-Based Home Delivery

The Wall Street Journal reports that “Walgreens Boots Alliance is betting its 8,700 bricks-and-mortar stores, and not a network of fulfillment centers, hold the key to speeding up delivery of online consumer orders and increasing sales. “The pharmacy giant recently closed a warehouse in Edwardsville, Ill., dedicated to filling e-commerce orders for household items such […]
2 min read
0
  1. Media & Marketing

FaceTime with the Content Guy:  Unfortunate Crosscurrents

Carmen Quiroga, who immigrated to the US from Mexico 17 years ago, was living the American dream, opening up a little breakfast spot in Coventry, Connecticut.  But it has turned into a bit of a nightmare, since she chose for her business a name that seemed in tune with its value proposition, but that, unbeknownst […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Holiday & Events

From The MNB Sports Desk (Taylor’s Version)

•  In Super Bowl LVIII, the Kansas City Chiefs came back from a series of deficits to engineer an overtime 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers. It was only the second Super Bowl to go into overtime, and cemented the Chiefs’ status as a legitimate dynasty, driven by head coach Andy Reid and quarterback […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital

Amazon Fresh Store Is First To Earn Zero Carbon Certification

Amazon announced that its Amazon Fresh store on Aurora Avenue in North Seattle has “received a Zero Carbon Certification from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), becoming the world’s first grocery store – and Amazon’s first building – to receive the certification. ILFI awarded the certification in September, and is currently evaluating four additional Amazon […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Media & Marketing

FaceTime with the Content Guy:  The Desecration of a Brand

Sports Illustrated long was the gold standard of sports journalism.  But the mighty seem to have fallen long and hard with the report this week that it has been posting AI-generated product reviews with bylines for non-existent writers on its site.  Let’s forget for a moment about assigning blame – I suspect there is plenty […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Department: Nonfood

Census Bureau Report Details Changing American Households

The Wall Street Journal this morning spotlights data from the US Census Bureau that points to the “changing composition of US families.” According to the story, “Americans in same-sex marriages and partnerships account for about 1% of households … Same-sex married couples made up 0.5% of the nation’s nearly 127 million households in 2020, five […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Inflation Cooled A Bit In December

From Axios this morning: “U.S. consumers got a reprieve from soaring costs in December: the Consumer Price Index declined on a monthly basis, the first drop since last summer as falling prices for items including gasoline and used cars dragged the overall index down.” According to the story, “The hot inflation that persisted through much […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Channel: Grocery

Publix To Shut Down Cooking Schools

The Sarasota Herald Tribune reports that Publix is shutting down its Aprons Cooking School operation after almost a quarter century. According to the story, Publix “once boasted 11 in-store culinary spaces in select stores. The Apron Cooking School, designed to give everyday customers the chance to enhance their cooking skills and enhance their recipe arsenal, […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

A MapThat Explains Why So Many Retailers Are Getting Into Health Care

Axios reports on an analysis of heath care records saying that “nearly 1 in 3 patients who received medical care between 2016 and 2022 did not see a primary care doctor.” The fact is, Axios writes, “Primary care providers manage patients’ day-to-day health needs and provide preventive care. Evidence shows those visits can drive down […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Department: Nonfood

Your Views:  Searing Criticisms

On Friday, we took note of a Fox Business story saying that “Sears Holdings has emerged from bankruptcy after more than 10,000 court filings and a four-year stay that saw the department store chain shrink from almost 700 stores to less than two dozen.  The bankruptcy estate’s reorganization plan took effect on Oct. 29, signaling […]
3 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Your Views:  Filling A Void

On the subject of how Starbucks and its former CEO, Howard Schultz, handled unionization movements within the company, MNB reader Rich Heiland wrote: Back when I was in my first general manager’s job at a newspaper in 1978 I went to a day-long seminar on how to keep unions out of your business. That may […]
5 min read
0
  1. Channel: Delivery

C-Store Chain Faces Resistance From Local Advocates In Chicago

BlockCubChicago reports that attempts by upscale c-store chain Foxtrot to open a store in the city’s Andersonville neighborhood are facing resistance by locals, who argue that “saying another chain in the neighborhood would further harm local shops.” According to the story, “Besides the increasing presence of chains in Andersonville, Foxtrot’s move to open on Clark […]
2 min read
0
  1. Operations & Supply Chain

Retailers Address Returns Issue, But Shoppers Resist

The Wall Street Journal has a story about how retailers are working to reduce the number of returns they are getting from shoppes and cut down the costs of these returns, which have become onerous. But the problem, the story makes clear, is that they may be working against the preferences of their customers. According […]
2 min read
0
  1. Channel: Drug

Walgreens Facing Mass Labor Action

From Business Insider, a story about how “hundreds of pharmacists and other employees” at Walgreens store around the country “could walk out of the job on Monday to protest what they say are increasingly miserable working conditions, according to multiple news reports … At issue is working conditions for those in the pharmacy section of […]
2 min read
0
  1. Stores & Formats

Sam’s Club To Open 30+ Stores In Next Few Years

CNBC reports that Walmart-owned Sam’s Club plans to “open more than 30 new stores in the U.S., marking its most aggressive expansion in years. “The warehouse club’s next store is expected to open in Florida in 2024. Sam’s Club also plans to open five fulfillment and distribution centers this year, with the first of those […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Shopper & Customer

Grocery Delivery Apps Try To Deal With Customer Abuse

The Wall Street Journal reports on how “the rise of grocery-delivery apps such as Instacart, DoorDash and Uber Eats” has shifted the arguments and hostilities that sometimes would occur in supermarkets to online platforms, as “app disputes have at times mushroomed into battlefields over substitutions, pets and more.” Which puts the delivery apps in a […]
2 min read
0
  1. Channel: Grocery

Your Views:  Not Buying The “Small, Local Player” Argument

Yesterday we referenced a piece in The Street analyzing the proposed Kroger acquisition of Albertsons.  Essentially, it argued that even combined, the Kroger-Albertsons market cap is still far less than that of Amazon, Walmart and Costco.  The Street argues that “inherently, Kroger and Albertsons are small, local players in relation to Walmart, Amazon, and Costco. […]
8 min read
0
Next