Quickly Noted

Remembrance of Candy Bars Past
Ever had an Idaho Spud? No, not the potato, the candy bar, described as a “marshmallow center covered with dark chocolate and coconut sprinkles.” It’s one of the few remaining regional candies, along with Abba Zabba, Cherry Mash, Mary Jane, and the best known of the group, the Goo Goo Cluster. The Kraft/Cadbury merger brought to mind the demise (for the most part) of the many small candy companies that once existed in virtually every town of any size: “…in the years between the World Wars, 30,000 different brands were introduced in the United States alone.”
Wall Street Journal, 30 January 2010

Zale Turns to Vendors to Raise Cash
Zale is asking their suppliers to buy back merchandise in return for promises of future purchases. Well, at least diamonds aren’t perishable like food or seasonal like fashion apparel, but nonetheless one suspects that their suppliers may be as cash-challenged as Zale is. “The weak market for some segments of jewelry claimed a number of victims last year. Finlay Enterprises Inc filed for bankruptcy protection in August, while regional luxury retailer Fortunoff filed for Chapter 11 in February.”
Reuters, 4 February 2010

WSJ’s Metro Section: It’s the Advertising, Stupid
The Wall Street Journal is creating a ‘metro’ section carrying local New York news of general interest – the NY Times being their obvious target. One of my thoughts concerning possible outcomes of the current crisis in the newspaper business is that we might end up with national newspapers with local sections. It’s possible WSJ is experimenting with that, and that we might see Chicago and LA versions soon.
Forbes BizBlog, 29 January 2009

India’s PM Signals Further Opening of Retail Trade to Curb Price Rise
India may begin further opening of its retail sector, according to recent statements from the prime minister expressing concern about rising food prices. “He stated that greater competition was necessary in the wake of the retail prices having shot up more than the wholesale prices.” With the prospects of huge growth in India, major international retailers, including Wal-Mart and Tesco, have recently entered the market, but have been limited in what they can do by laws limiting foreign companies to protect smaller retailers.
The Hindu Business Line, 6 February 2010

Meijer's New Approach Focuses on Groceries, Niches
Meijer recently opened a new smaller (100,000 square feet) store in Niles, Illinois focused on grocery and eliminating its usual assortment of hard goods and apparel. They claim the new format is wildly successful, and they will soon open another in Orland Park (at the other end of metro Chicago) and plan to roll out more throughout their Midwest market area.
Indianapolis Star, 1 February 2010

Outlook Sports Desk: Champions League Final Tops Super Bowl in TV Survey
Numbers aren’t in for this weekend’s Super Bowl, but last year the Big Game came in second internationally to the finals of the European soccer championship, the EUFA Cup. The Super Bowl had an average audience of 106 million (90% in the US), while EUFA Cup had 109 million. A distant third was the Bahrain Grand Prix car race.
Reuters, 31 January 2010