The Power of Retail

The buzz on colloidal silver seems to be increasing lately. I had no idea what it was a few weeks back, but I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot of stuff on it lately. Colloidal silver is natural antibiotic that works very effectively to prevent infections. In fact, colloidal silver is one of the most effective ways to deal with infections and the higher level of metal colloid products are used in dietary supplements, are an excellent source of minerals. Pure colloids are super effective as their particle size area is maximized for optimal quality and effectiveness. Colloidal silver is used in a variety of products such as photographic films, cosmetics, preservatives, antibacterial coatings and nutritional supplements. The number of uses of colloidal silver are increasing as technology advances, but the most prominent are of course its use as a dietary supplement and for reducing infections. It just waits to be seen how much the mainstream consumer picks up on this and how quickly.

My last post inspired me to look up some quotes on friendship, and so here are some of the ones I liked.

Friendship is like a prism through which the many variations of beauty are revealed in our lives.
-Anon.

“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.”
-Muhammad Ali

“A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil; but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small, silly presents every so often - just to save it from drying out completely.”
-Pam Brown

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”
-Anon.

I bunked work today!

Well, I am somewhat on vacation and decided to catch up with all my other work, that is,  errands, going to the tailor etc; all boring but necessary work. The fun part was meeting a good friend, with whom I worked with about 7 years ago. Some people are completely welcoming and friendly and M is definitely one of them. We hit if off right from the start and have kept in touch over the years, even though we have not lived in the same city or even country at times, for the past 5 years.

The boom in retail stores will be translating into lots of jobs in the industry. The Assocham Business Barometer (ABB) study “Job Opportunities in Emerging Sectors” estimates that retail, hospitality, aviation and brokerage houses will create the maximum jobs and a rewarding career. The study also addressed the need to provide more information on jobs and qualifications for the IT and management sectors.

Office Depot’s President Chuck Rubin is positive about India and thinks that the country could be the next step for the company’s international expansion. At the Reuters Consumer and Retail Summit in New York, he stated “We haven’t done anything in India yet. I think India is too large, too attractive for us to think that we won’t be. We’re trying to globalize how we go to market.” Office Depot is world’s second largest office supply retailer in the world and has 300 stores in the overseas market alone. The largest office supply store is Staples.

Well, it looks like I have found just the kind of property site that I was looking for! Ever since we decided to relocate, I’ve been searching for a site where I can get information on buying property overseas. Home Move is a UK based independent property portal that provides information and tips on people for the UK property market, as well as international properties that UK investors are interested in. This is a great addition, since if a person wants to invest purely for financial gain, they can get a good idea of the comparable rates.

Home Move also has a Property Blog that gives details on buying and selling property and the Property Forum, lets homeowners, buyers and investors connect and share information and tips about their experiences in property markets, buying and selling homes. It’s hard to keep up with the day to day going ons of the property markets, so one needs to find a trustworthy source that can provide you with all the pertinent information.

Property prices have been low in the US for the past couple of years (our cousin is trying to sell their beautiful home in Virgina, and not having much luck!) and it looks like they might fall lower and the UK market is unsteady at best, so where should one invest, how long should one wait to see if prices are going to fall further etc. Questions like these are essential and the answers can be all found at Home Move.

I love the excitement that bargain shopping brings. There is something quite incredible to find some really amazing things just for 99cents. This format of retail, usually looked down upon by the large retailers, is getting lots of buzz thanks to celebrities. Tyra Banks and Nicole Richie have been spotted shopping at 99 Cents Only Stores, a California based retailer and the trend is spreading far and wide. The retailer is keeping it’s look, product mix, and value different from the regular dollar stores which didn’t normally pay much attention to decor etc. Rival firms like Dollar General, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree are all working to update the look of their stores and to pull in newer customers.

According to an article in MySA.com, the dollar store industry is worth around $13 billion, after several years of steady increases, although the past few years have seen sales flattening out. A report by The Nielsen Co, estimates that 65% of US households shopped at dollar stores in 2006, as compared to 59% in 2001. The main reason that more people are shopping at these stores is that their number has increased significantly, from 5,458 locations in 1996 to over 19,000 in 2006.

“They have had phenomenal growth, and you are seeing some of the bigger competitors starting to slow down,” said Neil Stern, partner with retail consulting firm McMillan-Doolittle in Chicago. “The challenge for them continues to be how to become a more significant part of customers’ shopping basket.”

Consumers who like to track exactly where their food comes from will like this a lot. Springwise reports that Dole Organic will let customers find the information on where exactly their purchase came from via a three-digit tracking code that is on the label of the fruit. Consumers can key in the number at Dole Organic’s site and get all the details they want, including photos of the crops and workers. This trend is likely only to pick up even further, as a greater number of consumers become aware of carbon footprinting.

Abercrombie & Fitch is finalizing its overseas expansion plans as it feels that the major growth that the company will see will be from international markets, such as Canada, Europe and Asia. There are three brands within the company now; Abercrombie is the premier brand, Hollister is the slightly lower priced brand and Ruehl is brand new and is targeted at young adults. A fourth brand called Gilly Hicks will be introduced next year which will be devoted to lingerie and accessories. The company opened 6 Abercrombie and Hollister stores in Canada in 2006, which were also its first international stores. So far the Canadian stores have been performing well and the company is keen to launch its like of Abercrombie kids there as well.

With a store opening in London in March 2007 and the next one planned for Tokyo in 2009, the company is keen to step up its international ventures. According to Lois Huff, senior vice president of TNS Retail Forward, the premier consulting group of the retail industry, the stores are likely to do very well in Japan as consumers there still “embrace the American lifestyle”. The main issues to deal with in international expansion are real-estate prices, consumer behavior and shopping patterns and a much higher risk and cost of investment.

Gap will be expanding to the Turkish and Saudi Arabian markets in the next five years and has signed two separate franchise deals to open 90 Gap stores and 20 Banana Republic stores. In Saudi Arabia, Gap will be tying up with the Fawaz Alhokair Group and in Turkey the company will tie up with Fiba Holding A.S. for their venture there. The first of these Gap stores will open in both countries by the end of the year and Banana Republic stores by the spring of 2008. Worldwide, Gap has more than 3,100 stores in six countries and is the world’s largest apparel retailer, but has been going through lots of tough times lately with consumers switching to rival firms such as Zara, H&M, Topshop etc. Gap has signed franchise agreements to open in several countries, including Bahrain, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.