Top Stories » Expert Columns » All Categories

Editor's Note: We're delighted to kick off the New Year with this new column that will appear in every issue throughout 2007. Marketing professor Dr. Kenneth C. Herbst of the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary and merchandising expert Harold Lloyd have conducted extensive research on how customers shop and how products can be merchandised to increase profits, and they will share their findings and offer suggestions that, I believe, can make a huge difference in your stores. »

We're delighted to introduce this new column for 2007 written by kitchenware industry expert Bob Coviello. To be published six times this year, Store Ops will discuss such topics as product assortment, margins, inventory turns, markdowns, freight issues, and more. »

You thought it was a good idea. In fact, you KNOW it was a good idea. So why was everyone so upset with you for ___________ (fill in your own most recent failed change here: redoing the training, rebuilding the display, introducing new pricing, creating a new management position, etc.)? Sound familiar? Most everyone who¿s been in the workplace a year or more has at least one example of a great idea that failed, or that didn¿t have the level of success they were hoping for. At Zingerman¿s, we¿ve found that, often as not, good ideas fail not because they aren¿t good, but because the process used to implement them is flawed. To tackle that challenge, we¿ve developed a recipe for change that has greatly improved our success rate. »

Editor's Note: With over 40,000 products in the average supermarket, people don't have the time (or the money) to test every product on the shelves. So we do it for you.  »

Each month, The Gourmet Retailer Magazine will be publishing reviews of new products hitting the market. The new items we'll be examining are products just entering the marketplace or goods that will be introduced in the coming months. An editor will sift through an assortment of products, tasting, testing, and contemplating their future at retail. They will then communicate their impressions to you, along with product descriptions, photos, and manufacturer contact information. We're constantly being asked by readers what we've found lately that is cool or worthy of your inventory and we decided it was about time we shared those assessments with a larger audience. Enjoy!  »

The first time I had Peking Duck was an epiphany of sorts, and very entertaining. First, the roasted duck was presented at tableside. The crisp, glistening, amber-colored skin gave no hint of the juicy, succulent meat inside.  »

Usually when we think of the fresh cheeses of Italy, we think of mozzarella and ricotta, arguably the two best known cheeses of this type, and both readily available here in the United States.  »