Retail management jobs

AllRetailJobs.com is just that ... a job board that is all about retail management jobs. They have over 30,000 job openings listed. If you're looking for a new position to start 2005 off right, you may want to check it out.

E-Commerce: the merchant of Brooklyn

At age 14, Joseph Cohen started an e-commerce business retailing Christmas decorations and toys. Now he's 17 and earning $425,000 pre-tax profit on $1.9 million sales (not bad margins, eh?) There have been some rough patches ... like running up big advertising expenses while away at summer camp ... but he's learned quickly. His company is Polsteins.

When are you going to start a website for your retail store? It's not too late.

Retail Management: RTKL's predictions

RTKL, a worldwide architecture, engineering, planning and creative services organization, has made some predictions for retail management in 2005:

-- Expect many underperforming malls to combine shopping with housing, restaurants, movie theaters and other commercial uses.

-- Cause marketing is an emerging new trend in retail today, as seen in everything from Livestrong bracelets to Target's pink pop-up stores for breast cancer research to Starbuck's Free Trade products. The next generation of consumers equate shopping with social responsibility and activism. This will impact retail environments and inform the merchandise mix that typically goes into a traditional shopping center.

-- As the diversity of US suburbs grows, ethnic neighborhoods are becoming the testing grounds for new retail formats and concepts. In fact, many ethnic neighborhoods are spawning homegrown businesses, which are on their way to becoming national concepts... they only need to be discovered.

-- Manufacturers are becoming retailers with brand stores. Can your store do a better job of highlighting its best brands?

Retail Marketing: school supply stores to close

J.L. Hammett Co., the oldest school supply retailer in the country, is closing most of its brick-and-mortar stores and selling off the rest. The business has been around for 141 years ... they invented the blackboard eraser. The company's retail stores opened in 1974. Oh, the perils of marketing to a government monopoly.

Retail Store Success: Butch Blum

The finest quality suits, careful attention the basics of retailing, and an real long-term plan have keep the Butch Blum stores in Seattle alive and well for 30 years. Co-owners Butch Blum and wife Kay Smith-Blum are beginning the transition to take less-hands-on roles. In addition, many of the company's longtime staffers have been shifted to new positions after Blum asked each a radical question: What would they enjoy doing most? Apparel retail marketing is a difficult business ... but you notice that it's the high-end stores that survive and prosper over the long run. The mass market is no place for a small retail business.

Retail Marketing: 2004 according to eBay

eBay is the world's biggest retail marketplace. $1,060 of stuff are sold every second. What can it tell us about 2004? RVs and Louis Vuitton were big ... and pink is the "new black". Building supplies listings soared in the busy hurricane season. Globalization continues - 46% of the value of goods sold on eBay are sold outside the U.S.

E-Commerce: teddy bears & pajamas

Vermont Teddy Bear's 4 websites racked up big sales increases this holiday season. Web orders helped send holiday orders up 29% at Vermont Teddy Bear Co. For the holiday season, web sales at its flagship BearGram brand represented 65.3% of the brand’s sales, up from 63.7% last year. Online orders for its PajamaGram brand more than doubled over last year. Web and phone orders combined exceeded 105,000.

Retail store marketing: advocacy consumerism

Advocacy consumerism ... the shopper's side of cause marketing. From organic veggies to efficient appliances, there are consumers who are looking for specific product qualities that have a low impact on the environment and society (instead of a low price). Your values as a retailer and their's as shoppers can mesh nicely. Embody a cause ... it's a way to stand out from the crowd.

Retail Management: too fast growth

Retailer grew too fast, got into trouble. Shabby Shak started, expanded into a larger shop, then folded. Retailers need to manage their growth carefully, and keep a careful eye on finances.

History of big box retail

An interesting history of category killer retailers ... an excerpt from Category Killers: The Retail Revolution and Its Impact on Consumer Culture by Robert Spector.

Hefty profits from super-size shoppers

Big shoppers can fatten your retail store's bottom line. Americans are big ... really big. And the big need special whopper-sized stuff. It's a lucrative niche for clothes, caskets, furniture and more.

Retail business trends for 2005

Are "bejeweled accessories, tartan plaid with sequins and fur, chrome yellow cars and Chinese dumplings" really going to be hot in 2005? Demand for "unique and exclusive" products is at an all time high. More retail trends for the new year.

The Charm Bar

The Charm Bar, making your own charm bracelet, and experiential marketing. Fun and creativity sell.