Thursday, August 26, 2010

Lessons from Trader Joe's continued . . .

For me, it was love at first sight - that first time that I walked into a Trader Joe's store. I truly couldn't understand the gentleman that attended one of my presentations and took offense at my suggestion that there were lessons to be learned for our industry from this charming little food emporium. My main point was that the proliferation of product choices was overwhelming the consumer and that all retailers had to become "choice editors" for their customers in the future.

Not much is know about the inside working of what has become a food giant, but the current issue of
Fortune tells the story of their success as best as they can determine from sources other than the company itself. The big reveal is that Stonyfield makes their yogurt, but you have probably already figured that out if you have purchased both products. They sell double the number of dollars per square foot as Whole Foods, their nearest in-kind competitor - so who wouldn't want to take tips from Trader Joe's?

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Aging in place or on Wheels?

Will "Baby boomers' lifelong affair with all things motorized" affect the future sales of home related items?

Some anecdotal evidence shows that fulfilling the lifelong dreams of wheels trumps real estate. I suspect there is a gender divide here, but the article in the Miami Herald goes to great lengths to feature woman motorcycle, RV and sports car owners to convince us that this is more than the fulfillment of males fantasies. There are still more women planning their jewel box retirement homes than buying Harley's, but my guess is there will be extra large temperature controlled garages included.



The World of Wacky Ideas

Crowne Plaza Hotels in the UK are installing grass floors in conference rooms "to spur creativity."

And file this related quote under specious research: Angela Whitlock, author of Walk on the Grass, said: "Research has shown that by the age of 25, as much as 98% of our creativity has vanished."