IBM wins top Wal-Mart contract
IBM has scooped a major contract by being chosen to help transfer
thousands of suppliers of Wal-Mart Stores Inc to a standardised
Internet-based system.
Wal-Mart is indisputably the United States’ leading
retailer, with annual sales of $US218 billion achieved through 2,780
discount stores, supercentres and neighbourhood markets, as well as
510 Sam’s Clubs throughout the country.
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Mail house, gift card get-together
Australian-owned full-service mail-house SecurityMail today
(October 16) announced a significant strategic investment in E Com
industries (E Com), a leading provider of gift card and gift voucher
products and solutions.
Gift cards or stored value cards are the plastic equivalent of
paper gift vouchers, and E Com claims to be the industry leader in
stored value solutions using magnetic strip cards.
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Revamp ACCC, grocers urge
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is under
attack for having too many diverse responsibilities.
Spearheading the attack is the National Association of Retail
Grocers of Australia (NARGA), which claims that the ACCC’s
break-up is now a real possibility.
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SMS ads preferred
People in the United Kingdom between the ages of 18 and 35 prefer
to receive Short Messaging Service (SMS) ads over any other ad
medium.
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St George lines up newsagents
Intellect has announced an agreement with Australia’s
St.George Bank to deliver a range of value-added services through
newsagents with Melbourne-based Touchcorp. The bank plans to extend
this into other merchant sectors around the country.Newsagents who
use the St.George Bank EFTPOS network will be able to sell over 30
products such as phone cards, vouchers, movie and attraction tickets,
tolling etc via their Intellect EFTPOS terminals.
For the newsagents, electronic distribution overcomes problems of
storage, delivery and theft of stock because each product is printed
and issued by the Intellect terminal only as it is required. There is
also the ability to offer a diverse range of products from multiple
suppliers on demand.
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$15m Metcentre makeover
Virgin Entertainment Group and top fashion retailers Ron Bennet
and Beachculture are the final pieces in the jigsaw of Metcentre’s
new-look George Street (Sydney) facade.
The façade has been redesigned to allow for greater product
exposure, clearer sightlines for consumers and more natural lighting.
It’s part of a $15 million refurbishment and expansion program,
which will also include the opening of a new food court to Margaret
Street and transformation of the office and lobby entry.
More... |
Thumbs down for pop-up ads
A flood of complaints from subscribers has led to major online
operator AOL banning so-called “pop-up” ads from its
service.
More... |
Say Cheesecake!
The Cheesecake Shop, an Australian suburban culinary icon, is
preparing to spread into the affluent inner suburbs of Australia’s
capital cities.
The two-pronged approach involves the chain extending to 100 inner
suburban café outlets; as well as the introduction of unique
refrigerated supermarket displays.
More... |
Yes’ to permission e-mails
A total of 67% of consumers surveyed in the United States say
they like the companies they think do a good job with permission
e-mail marketing.
And 58% say they open those companies’ e-mails, while 53%
are influenced as a result in their buying decisions.
More... |
Close
This bulletin is edited and compiled by retail commentator John Kingsley-Jones.
John has worked as an Editor, Chief Sub-Editor
and journalist in magazines and newspapers both
in Australia and overseas.
In the past 15 years, he has consulted to a
range of companies and brands such as Unilever,
Mars Confectionery, TipTop, Tooheys, McWilliam's
Wines, Goodyear and BMW.
That's it for this issue of the Retail One-Stop. If you
have any questions or comments please give us a call on 02 9419 8356 or email us
on info@eps.net.au.
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