ETD: 993 Sourcing products; Can Latino Spending Power Revive
the Traditional Mall?; Credit Card Security Revamp in Works
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post at gapent.com
Thu Jul 20 12:58:44 GMT 2006
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0993 July 20, 2006
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem at gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] Sourcing products
[3] Can Latino Spending Power Revive the Traditional Mall?
[4] Credit Card Security Revamp in Works
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
Recently we have been sourcing products for a new venture and found
interesting things. I was wondering what your experience is with
sourcing? You don't have to disclose your sources, but we would like
to hear some of your experiences.
You know how we have been discussing how department stores and some
malls have been hurting? Well today we learn how one mall in Phoenix
turned itself around by catering to the local demographics (imagine
that ;-)). Some food for thought here.
The credit card industry is in the midst of a revamping which we all
should watch. Credit card security has been a big issue, with cards
being stolen and the card holders identity taken along with it in
many cases. Well the industry is policing itself, and it is expected
to be more effective than Sarbanes Oxley is with public
companies. What do you think?
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
George Matyjewicz, PhD
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, LLC
mailto:georgem at gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] Sourcing products
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Recently I have been sourcing products for a new venture we are in
and I find it amazing on what is out there - both good and bad. You
can find virtually any product in any category. Some companies will
drop ship and others you must warehouse yourself.
Suppliers in countries outside the U.S., looking to take advantage of
the Internet offer products online in situations where they would
only be known locally. For example, you can buy clothing made out of
bamboo from Korea; candles of beeswax from China; fine embroidered
goods from Philippines and Romania.
Here in the U.S., you can buy unique crafted items from small crafts
people. I recently found a "quillow" - a quilt that folds into a
pillow that can be displayed on your couch, and taken out when it gets chilly.
I'm curious if the experiences you may have encountered when sourcing
products for your business. Any helpful hints will help us all.
George
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[3] Can Latino Spending Power Revive the Traditional Mall?
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We have been talking about the decline of departments stores and also
how category killers like WalMart destroyed some malls. Well the WSJ
had an interesting article about how one mall in Phoenix, AZ (Desert
Sky Mall) got smart and appealed to the local population. This is
not a new concept, at least with strip malls. Here in NJ we have one
strip mall that is all Japanese, due to the large population
here. However, Desert Sky is a full mall, complete with five anchor stores.
During the past 15 years, overbuilding, demographic shifts and new
competitors had taken their toll on malls. Desert Sky noted that
their local population was now 70% Hispanic. So, they did the smart
thing - they appealed to those demographics. Today, Hispanic
shoppers crowd a revitalized Desert Sky -- now a mall with a Mexican
accent. Moviegoers get salsa with their popcorn, salespeople are as
likely to speak Spanish as English. Sales at the mall are up 15%
annually since 2004.
While ethnic shops catering to Latinos and Asians have long existed
in small strip malls, many larger malls have been slow to wake up to
the Latino potential. But Latino buying power -- $24 billion in
Arizona alone, according to Arizona State University -- is spurring a
reassessment by retailers and investors. In Fort Worth, Texas, an
investor group last year began converting the dying Fort Worth Town
Center into a Latino mercado (market square) called La Gran Plaza.
Malls across the country in high-immigration areas are experimenting
with bringing in a Latino store or two.
Desert Sky opened in 1981 in suburban west Phoenix. By 1993,
competing retailers and a new mall 12 miles away were drawing away
part of Desert Sky's customer base. During the 1990s, the area also
changed from predominantly white to mostly Hispanic. Management
struggled to attract national retailers but none seemed interested in
the mall's changing demographics.
In 2000, J.C. Penney Co. closed its Desert Sky department store, and
Montgomery Ward followed the next year, leaving the mall with two
gaping holes in its five anchor spots. A year later, Harkin Theaters
shut down its six-screen cinema in the mall.
The exodus prompted Westcor to give mall general manager Zeke
Valenzuela license to set out on a strategy appealing to the area's
changing demographics. To replace the shuttered cinema, Westcor in
2003 brought in Cinema Latino, a four-theater chain that shows
first-run Hollywood movies with Spanish subtitles.
Mr. Valenzuela flew to Mexico City to talk to established Mexican
chain retailers, but he had more luck in Phoenix at a nearby swap
meet in a converted grocery store. In addition to La Gran Bota, he
signed up Oscar Piel Leather & Clothing and jewelry shop Palacio De Oro.
The culture of the swap meet is more bazaar than Bloomingdale's,
though, and merchants at first were skittish about making the jump
from a booth to a mall store. Mr. Valenzuela overcame that by
offering temporary leases at discounted rent.
But he had to set some ground rules. At the swap meet, "display is
not a main thing for them," says Mr. Valenzuela, a native of Mexico.
"Everything is either on the floor or on the walls just hanging
haphazardly. It's very claustrophobic, very chaotic." The new tenants
agreed their stores would display merchandise in a more orderly way,
with help from a professional merchandiser if necessary.
Another big cultural change Mr. Valenzuela insisted on: no haggling.
Palacio De Oro owner Eladio Martinez, who owns two jewelry shops at
the mall now, had to shut down his swap-meet location because
customers couldn't understand why they could haggle at it but not at the mall.
National retailers that not long ago wouldn't touch the place are
opening stores at Desert Sky -- among them, the Children's Place and
music retailer F.Y.E. -- and owner Macerich is preparing to spend
millions of dollars renovating the mall. But the transition has faced
some resistance. When Mr. Valenzuela proposed putting in bilingual
signage three years ago and encouraging bilingual hires, some
retailers balked. Now almost all are on board but he says he still
must walk a fine line in making sure the mall isn't "too Mexican,"
alienating the white and black longtime shoppers who still make up
nearly 30% of customers.
Details at...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115327687360710762.html
George
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[4] Credit Card Security Revamp in Works
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If a company suffers a security breech and it isn't complying with
security standards, it can be hit with big dollar fines and loss of
its authorization to process credit card payments, said Chris Farrow,
director of the policy and compliance division for Configuresoft.
A revamping of security standards is being prepared by the major
payment card issuers and is expected to be announced within the next 60 days.
"[MasterCard, along] with other payment brands including American
Express (NYSE: AXP) , Discover, JCB and Visa, are currently
considering potential recommended updates to the PCI Data Security
Standard based on feedback provided by industry stakeholders,"
MasterCard Global Technology Communications Vice President Christina
Rae told the E-Commerce Times.
The PCI (Payment Card Industry) standard was adopted by the card
issuers about a year ago to set guidelines for the secure handling of
credit card information by merchants and service providers.
Robust Standards. "A date for release of a revised standard has not
yet been determined," Rae said. "However, there are no plans to make
any of the PCI Data Security Standard requirements less robust."
There have been discussions among standards setters about reducing
the strength of encryption recommended in the existing guidelines,
according to Chris Farrow, director of the policy and compliance
division for Configuresoft in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Compliance Issues. Although watering down encryption standards may
not be a good idea from a security standpoint, it may have compliance
benefits. Weaker encryption may be easier to handle for small- and
medium-sized businesses, Farrow noted.
If the card issuers can get more businesses to adopt the standards,
then compliance -- which, according to Aaron Biddar, president of
Control Scan in Atlanta, has been, at best, tepid -- may improve.
The latest compliance numbers from MasterCard for all levels of
merchants was about 40 percent, Biddar said, adding that those
figures are "probably a stretch."
More Teeth Than SOX. If the payment card providers want to encourage
compliance, Farrow said they should add some incentives to the standards.
If a company suffers a security breech and it isn't complying with
security standards, Farrow said, it can be hit with big dollar fines
and loss of its authorization to process credit card payments.
"PCI has more teeth behind it than something like a Sarbanes-Oxley or
HIPPA because no one is going to go without their ability to accept
credit cards as payment," Farrow contended.
Details at...
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/51756.html
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