With the disappointing Holiday season behind us, the layoffs and retail store closings are continuing to mount:
Today, Home Depot has announced that they are closing their line of Expo home design centers and trimming support staff, resulting in 7,000 reduction in staff. With both home sales and the economy down, shoppers aren’t looking for high end home design solutions right now. The retailer is quick to note that the layoffs will not impact any customer service positions at the Home Depot proper chain.
It appears that their Expo stores weren’t performing well during the housing boom, so it’s no surprise that they would be doing even worse during the current economic conditions.
Another victim of the housing slump is Williams-Sonoma. On Friday, the retailer announced an 18% reduction in their workforce. In addition to stores being effected by the layoffs, the retailer will also close a call center in Pennsylvania and a distribution center in Memphis. I think the high end housewares stores have been hurt badly by both the economic downturn and mid-market retailers like JCPenney and Kohl’s.
Starbucks, who closed 600 stores in 2008, is expected to eliminate 1,000 jobs at their corporate headquarters and reducing district managers and field employees. The published report, prepared by investment firm McAdams Wright Ragen, speculates that these layoffs will happen in early February and won’t effect store-level barista positions.
And don’t forget that last week Circuit City announced that they are closing all US operations with job losses effecting up to 35,000 people.
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Wednesday
September 3, 2008
More announcements from retailers offering assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav:
Best Buy, with eight stores in the affected region, has announced that customers can donate to the American Red Cross through all of the stores nationally through September 30, 2008. The retailer will also match donations up to $1 million.
Home Depot has announced it has donated $300,000 to the American Red Cross, in addition to $500,000 that the retailer donated to employees who were affected by the storm.
Finally, Target has announced a variety of relief efforts. They’re donating $300,000 in product relief packages assembled by volunteers and delegates from the Republican National Convention. The retailer has also given the American Red Cross access to their store in Convington, LA for use as an emergency operations center, and are allowing the Salvation Army to use a vacant store in Dallas, TX to store supplies.
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Tuesday
September 2, 2008
New Orleans has a great mix of local and national retail brands that I think is an example for many other urban areas. Last year, I got to get down to New Orleans and really enjoyed, among other things, the Riverwalk Marketplace. The national brands co-existing with local stores was a nice balance to see With Hurricane Gustav having moved on shore and away from New Orleans, retailers will be allowed back in to the city, on Wednesday, in order to check on damage and assess their properties. I hope there is a speedy recovery for everyone involved in the storm.
As discussed over the weekend, many retailers prepared well for this storm in order to reopen their stores in the wake of the storm. USA Today has more on the post-storm plans in their article, Businesses eye quick recovery effort after Gustav. Home Depot has many trucks staged and ready to roll into the affected area and Walmart really highlights all of the things that they learned in the aftermath of Katrina that made this preparation better, which in turn should make the recovery smoother and quicker.
Speaking of Walmart: In this article regarding the 1200 evacuees that found themselves in Hanceville, Alabama, there’s a good note about Walmart’s local response to the situation:
“Wal-Mart Distribution Center called and asked what we need,” Kilgo said. “They brought a huge truck load of supplies, including drinks, snacks and cleaning supplies.”
If you have any more information on retail-related recovery efforts, please let me know.
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In addition to Home Depot, more companies are turning to Twitter to communicate storm tips and company information related to Hurricane Gustav.
Today, the ComcastCares Twitter account started posting very helpful, electronic/communication-related storm preparation tips. The ComcastCares account is always a very helpful, customer-facing extension of Comcast – but in this situation, they adapted to the situation at hand and are posting helpful storm tips. All of this, and I don’t even think Comcast is available in the New Orleans area at this time. It is great to see them using Twitter to offer their expertise even though there is no direct business impact for them.
Last night, JetBlue Airways used their Twitter to send out updated travel information for the New Orleans area. The airliner also has a large page on their site dedicated to storm information and updates.
Twitter is really shining in this moment of darkness. The service is being used by many to send out real time storm information, updates, evacuation information, etc. I would expect that every retailer in the area is in some sort of emergency operations mode, and Twitter is a way for the retailers to send valuable information to the communities they serve: store closings, special inventory alerts, community information.
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Hurricane Gustav continues to develop into a monster storm in the Gulf of Mexico. With the tragic lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, residents and retailers alike are taking a more proactive approach to the arrival of this hurricane.
Yesterday, I talked about how well Home Depot was using their Twitter account to communicate hurricane tips and store information. Taking a look at the Home Depot Twitter, it appears that they have a dozen stores staying open all night in the Gulf Coast area. They’ve also brought in out of town volunteers to work the stores, allowing the local employees to secure their homes and evacuate. In addition to providing valuable information online, they’re also bringing supplies to the communities in need and staying open to allow people the time to get what they need. Home Depot also offers a section on their website with a wealth of information related to hurricane preparation.
The Wall Street Journal profiled the Walmart emergency operations center in Bentonville. Within the operations center, the retailer monitors the storm, communicates with the stores in the path of the storm, and plans on how to bring needed supplies, merchandise, and resources to the affected region. Walmart rapidly deployed resources to the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and can serve as a model for retailer involvement in disaster relief.
Winn-Dixie has a list of their store closings on their website. Nola.com has several photos showing a very empty Winn-Dixie in New Orleans.
Publix is the sponsor of a website called Hurricane Gustav Resources. This website seems to be a great resource of shelters that are open and evacuation information.
Obvious business motives aside, it is great to see these businesses working so hard to assist their communities. If you know of other retailers working to assist the Gulf Coast, please let me know in the comments.
Photo from Flickr user Maitri, used under Creative Commons.
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As the Gulf Coast of the United States makes preparations for the impact of Hurricane Gustav, I have to say that I am very impressed by the way Home Depot is using Twitter to communicate preparation tips and store information. The Home Depot Twitter account, which is generally filled with helpful home improvement tips, has switched gears to provide information targeted to Gulf Coast residents and those who are in the path of the storm.
Recent updates today have included general hurricane preparation tips about moving appliances, the danger of carbon monoxide from emergency generators, and reminding people to locate their main water and electric shut off switches. There has also been information about store closings and the availability of water.
This is a great use of Twitter by a retailer. They’re using the service to focus communication on information related to this very dangerous storm. I see this as a way for the retailer to assist the community that it serves. Good job by Home Depot.
My thoughts go out to everyone in the path of the storm.
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Just two quick links for today:
In regards to today’s earlier entry about the perils of catching a shoplifter, I came across another recent story on the same topic. Last week, a shoplifter tried to stab a Home Depot security guard with a screwdriver he just stole.
Then there’s an article from the Billings Gazette about how retailers and others are recruiting teenagers to fill Summer jobs. Good look at a local American Eagle Outfitters location and how the manager there goes about recruiting new employees, as well as some of the methods used by others to fill other, non-retail, jobs.
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A (new) weekly rundown of some of the blog posts and other items that I’ve found interesting this week, but didn’t get a chance to share:
Retail Design Diva writes about the new Lord & Taylor Summer window displays (see: Making Waves on Fifth Avenue). With photography from the new Georgia Aquarium, it sounds like a very extravagant window display. I’d love to see it, but with it only being around until 5/4, I don’t know If I will get up there to see it firsthand. Photos, anyone?
Home Depot Canada will continue self-checkout rollout says Home Channel News. Wish more self-service checkouts were in the American stores. Nothing like going to Home Depot on a sunday afternoon and there only being two cashiers. At least self service checkouts would speed things up, somewhat.
Finn over at Lightheavyweight wrote the very simply titled KISS a few weeks back. Didn’t get a chance to share it then, but I’d recommend reading it. A reminder than simple, sometimes is better.
And I have to do some self promotion, again. As a reminder, this week I launched Big Box Watch, which is a web application plotting new retail construction using a Google Map interface. There’s also a blog there, and this week I talked about the expansion of JCPenney and their foray into Manhattan and I also posted some news about Best Buy’s store openings in the next three months.
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Another one of my exciting weekly rundowns of quick things going on around the retail industry:
Maybe I need to put on my tin foil hat, but I’m not a fan of one test currently going on in Florida. Coast to Coast convenience store in Tampa is currently testing in-store payments via biometrics. That’s where you put your finger into a scanner and your fingerprint is connected to your debit account information. Makers of the system, Pay By Touch, say it is a secure alternative to carrying cash or credit cards. Critics of biometrics say that the system can be defeated with gummi bears. Is this the future of retail payments? I hope not! I use my debit card for a majority of my purchases – but as much as I embrace technology, I don’t know if I am ready to link personal information in to my fingerprint. [story via Slashdot]
ManagersRealm writes about the new Home Depot customer service plan that they have launched. I talked about this the other day – they’ve earmarked $30m to give to stores and employees who provide great customer service. Is it going to work? Probably not. It seems that Gary Bourgeault shares this opinion and offers up some ideas on how the company could improve service.
J.Crew prepares for their IPO this week. Looking to raise $280 million through this stock sale, how will Wall Street react? I’m thinking investors will love this stock – a first quarter profit increase of 60%, the launch of the kids’ store, crewcuts, and the development of a new women’s store, Madewell. J.Crew has enjoyed a great turnaround over the past two years and this IPO is just another step forward.
Gap Inc. has announced three more locations for Forth & Towne, all in the Los Angeles area. All three will be opening sometime in the Fall.
Speaking of new stores, looks like Kohl’s has officially put out their list of new stores opening in October.
In somewhat lighter news, I hear a crew over at a local hardware store chain was loading pallets when they knocked into the sprinkler system, causing a minor flood. What better place for there to be a plumbing problem than at a hardware store?
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In an effort to revive their anemic customer service program, the AP is reporting that Home Depot has earmarked $30 million for stores and employees that provide good customer service. Stores who rank high in the company and individuals who go out of their way to provide good customer service will be eligable for cash bonuses on a monthly and quarterly basis.
It is generally felt that Home Depot ranks near the bottom of the industry as far as customer service goes. Is this the right way to turn themselves around?
Let’s face facts, money talks and people will respond. There will be a turnaround in the customer service provided by some individuals/stores as they now have a much larger carrot dangling in front of them. The problem is long term – you can’t just throw money at a situation to correct it.
Create a workplace with people who are passionate about what they are doing and create an enviroment where people actually do want to show up for work every day – not just looking for a paycheck, but wanting to share in the success of the company/store – and the positive customer experiences will follow. I think HD had this enviroment once, they need to figure out how to recapture it again.
I just can’t help but think that the $30 million could be better spent some other ways.
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