Major Retail Shakeout On The Horizon?

Changes in demographics, lifestyle, technology and economics have not only reinvented the retail industry but also created a new generation of consumers, according to a new report by Arthur Andersen.

"A major shakeout is expected. Most of the real losers are already out of the system. The next phase will be to determine how many good operations will be driven out. The winners will have to have a clear value proposition defining which customer segments to target, how to differentiate from competitors, and which channels to use," predicts Jay Scansaroli, Arthur Andersen.

Different segments of the industry have been overlapping in response to consumers' desire for "fair value," he says. "The'spendthrift' baby-boomer of the mid-1980s has evolved into a 1990s bargain hunter who takes pride in finding the lowest price for the best quality product."

Shoppers have less time in today's world and are more educated, so retailers need to cater to new needs. The spread of PC use in the home and the birth of the Internet open new opportunities for shopping without ever leaving the home.

Economic growth over the past several years has been mirrored by inflation causing consumers to spend cautiously. In Scansaroli's opinion, "retailers must adapt quickly to all these changes in order to stay afloat in this rapidly changing environment."

Retailing scholar Walter J. Salmon suggests changes in consumer buying behavior and technology are the main drivers in an acceleration of the worldwide trend toward concentration in retailing that will leave only a very few giant retailers-"in some markets, perhaps only one or two."

Sears Hardware To Double

Sears, Roebuck & Co. anticipates more than doubling the number of its hardware stores from 240 at the end of 1996 to 560 by the end of the decade.

Currently operating more than 800 department stores and 1,500 freestanding stores, Sears hopes to double total stores to 5,000 by the year 2000.

"Arrogance is a deadly sin. All wisdom does not reside in the corner office."

- Arthur C. Martinez, chairman Sears. Roebuck & Co. at the National Hardware Show

Malaysia Gets Hoo-Hoo Club

With the formation of Malaysia Club #275, Hoo-Hoo International has landed in its fifth country, after the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Lee Chiew Fook, a member of the Melbourne, Australia, club and a resident of Malaysia, acted as go between for Hoo-Hoo and the Registrar of Societies in Kuala Lumpur, helping resolve the government's desire that all members be Malaysian citizens. Hoo-Hoo is a lumber fraternal order.