bobjohns

Bob Johns

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Bob Johns is a contributing writer focusing on the retail, hospitality, and food industries

ARTICLES BY BOB JOHNS

  • How Mobile Helps JetBlue Take Off
    10/17/2013

    JetBlue is built on providing an exceptional customer experience. A large part of the company’s success relies on the mobile customer experience, since most of the consumer interactions take place away from home. Here we ask Jonathan Stephan, head of mobile and emerging technologies at JetBlue, a few questions about his approach to mobility and how it works for all types of retail.
  • Mobile Devices — Choosing The Right Form For Function
    10/17/2013

    The retail environment is being dramatically altered by the use of mobile devices. But, what devices doe retailers prefer? Here we talk with Bob Grabowski, retail vertical marketing manager with Honeywell Scanning and Mobility, to find out what retailers are looking for in mobility.
  • Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Is Living The Sweet Life With 8.4% Revenue Growth
    10/16/2013

    Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory recently released its second quarter 2013 results, and the results are sweet. Overall retail sales grew 19.8 percent, including company-owned same-store sales growth of 1.2 percent. Franchise same-store sales were up 2.4 percent, doubling the company-owned increase.
  • Mobile Devices In Retail — Apple Takes The Lead
    10/16/2013

    Mobility is taking retail by storm. For an industry notoriously slow to implement new technologies, retail has embraced mobility like no other technology before. Here, Brad Fick, owner and president of Direct Source, discusses the reasons for mobility’s rise in retail.
  • Spencer Gifts Is Having A Happy Halloween
    10/15/2013

    Most retailers bring in the majority of their sales in just a few seasons, usually centered around the December holidays. Spencer Gifts, however, has another season that gives them a ghoulish grin, Halloween. Spencer Gifts is the parent company of Sprit Halloween, the seasonal pop-up chain that dominates formerly empty retail spaces this time of year.
  • Halloween Takes Center Stage At Meijer
    10/11/2013

    Halloween has become big business for retail, and hypermarket giant Meijer is poised to take advantage. According to a survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF), Americans are expected to spend $2.6 billion on Halloween costumes — $1 billion on children’s costumes, $1.2 billion on adult costumes, and $330 million on pet costumes. When you add in candy and decorations, Americans will spend nearly $6.9 billion on Halloween. This is why Meijer has expanded its Halloween offerings, not only to customers, but their pets as well.
  • Staples Takes Battle With Amazon To The Stores
    10/11/2013

    In a move that further distances itself from Amazon, Staples announced that it will match Amazon’s prices in stores beginning November 3, in an effort to boost holiday sales. Staples is not only one of the top office supply companies in the U.S., but it ranks second only to Amazon in online sales in North America.
     
  • h.h. gregg — Your One-Stop-Shop For Electronics, Appliances, and Home Furnishings?
    10/10/2013

    Electronics retailer h.h. gregg is in the process of taking a giant leap to diversify its product offering. Traditionally known for its TVs, electronics, and appliances, the company is knee-deep in a push to carry furniture and fitness equipment nationwide. While on the surface this may sound like a strange fit, when you consider that most electronics are geared toward leisure, this may turn out to be a perfect fit. Also, the company is trying to avoid the same fate suffered by many other electronics retailers, being so tied to a type of product that has ever-reducing margins and increasing competition.
  • Jos. A. Bank Wants You To "Like The Way You Look"
    10/10/2013

    Men’s clothier Jos. A. Bank vows to continue to pursue the acquisition of Men’s Wearhouse for $2.3 billion. It has been a whirlwind few months for Men’s Wearhouse. Founder George Zimmer, who coined the phrase, “You’re going to like the way you look,” was unceremoniously fired in June for various disagreements with the board’s management and strategy. It didn’t help that the company’s profits were plummeting along with sales. Men’s Wearhouse stock fluttered after the firing, but had been trending up until the latest profit warnings in September.
  • Location-Based Marketing Is More Than Just Mobile Advertising
    10/10/2013

    Asif Khan, founder and president of the Location Based Marketing Association (LBMA), is an expert when it comes to location-based and mobile marketing. To Asif, “Location based marketing is the intersection of people, places, and media.”