Dornoff Consulting is designed to help businesses be more competitive in an ever changing marketplace. Dornoff Consulting provides business consulting services along with Community Development, Community Economic Development, Urban Planning, Transportation Planning, and Urban Design.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Consumer spending up as incomes rebound
Chains try inside move
Economic growth sputters
Apple could alter cell phone industry
Local First Utah sets Independents' Week
F.D.A. Curbs Sale of 5 Seafoods Farmed in China
Century-Old Ban Lifted on Minimum Retail Pricing
Hanesbrands to close 9 facilities
'Most important meal' may stop being most lucrative
Venture Capital: Auto Web site keeps on cruising
Inside Entrepreneurship: Tips to ID a healthy in-home startup
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Business Articles of Note
New home sales fall in May for 4th month
Apple, AT&T unveil monthly iPhone plans
Family-owned Shapiro thriving
Domain names under review
Dell aims to dazzle users with brightly colored PCs
Disney expanding adult line
Self-employment growth rate in Utah is 2nd in nation
Online speed in U.S. improves from a decade ago but lags other nations
Monday, June 25, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Workers inventing new types of career models
Homes selling slower; supply at 15-year high
Experience pays off for start-ups
Managers shouldn't sniff at worker's repeated allergy complaints
Need-to-know news for the entrepreneur
Companies working to pare down product packaging, waste
Companies seeking to reduce packaging weight
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Snack food makers start aiming for health
Entrepreneur works behind scenes to develop huge variety of businesses
Mother-son team offers speedy haircuts in Heights
Consumers, industry eagerly await iPhone
Many in U.S. don't have bank accounts
Web ads add to profit
Noncompete clause filters down from executive suite
Docs want AMA to fight retail clinics
Former Bears star thrown for loss by fumble in business
Networking for entrepreneurial survival
Wal-Mart to reduce waste
Gateway warns of battery hazard
Web spending to grow 10.7% a year
The Florsheims, Back in Their Own Shoes
The Human Touch That May Loosen Google’s Grip
They’re Partners. They’re Rivals. They’re Both.
Blog about work, but at your own risk
Linux makes bigger push with servers
Retail Notebook: Making the birth less of a pain
Google seeks U.S. help on censorship abroad
Workers, employers to get brief tax break
Innovation helps secure future for India
Friday, June 22, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Home Depot Focuses on Retail Experience
For sale: Home building slows
Best Buy lowers '08 profit estimate
Qwest cautious about adding TV service
AT&T to let cell callers share live video
FTC says Whole Foods wants no rivals
Chamber to honor small businesses
SBA streamlining loans for vets
Cleaning up in Inglewood
Wal-Mart to Open MoneyCenters by End 2008
Circuit City Posts Quarterly Loss
Microsoft Will Alter Vista Operating System
Banking on 'ATM freedom'
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Home builders' confidence lowest since 1991
Flat-panel price drops leave Best Buy vulnerable
Disney seeks high-end cachet
RC2’s Train Wreck
Oh, to Be 19 and an Entrepreneur
Workplace Coach: Ways to survive a co-worker outburst
Arrival of Wal-Mart a boon to some, a bust to others
Monday, June 18, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Family brings deck experience to Billings area
E-mail can last forever, so think before sending
Latest luxury items raise the bar
Bluetooth comes to senses
ENTREPRENEURS: SUCCESS ON TAP
As More Toys Are Recalled, the Trail Ends in China
Not All Plane Beds Are Equally Restful
More than a Pez dispenser
Chicago business redefines recipe for success giving loans with a social mission
Taking stock of business scene
Lawsuit greets lawyer-rating site
Blockbuster chooses Blu-ray over HD DVD
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Car dealers seek workers, even as makers slash jobs
New online real estate firm moves into Washington
Retail Notebook: Stupid Prices cashing in on treasure hunt for bargains
Live-work condos present own problems
Wal-Mart workers give back
Small talk: Small businesses optimistic despite slow markets
On the Job: Politics and the workplace don't often mix
Online Sales Lose Steam as Buyers Grow Web-Weary
Can You Be Too Fashionable?
All-in-one iPhone looks nifty, but should you put it on hold?
Solving the puzzle of cellphone plans
Office furniture finally reflecting women's sensibilities
KOA takes camping to a new level
Do-it-yourself trend hits supermarkets
Friday, June 15, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Working beyond 65 becomes growing trend
Consumer prices rise at fastest pace in 20 months while industrial production was flat
Employee health and well-being recognized
Gary Christensen wants to prove environmentally friendly does not carry extra financial load
Assisting the Good Life
Healthier cereals make Kellogg think outside box
Venture Capital: Bag Borrow or Steal bags $15 million
Inside Entrepreneurship: Getting past initial venture funding rejection
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Franchise owner ready for Real Deals on decor
Apple offers browser for PCs
McDonald's seeking moms' approval
IN BRIEF: Need-to-know news for the entrepreneur
Financial firms toiling to foil identity theft
Overworked, underpaid U.S. workers turning to the courts
Dell to sell computers at Sam's Club stores
China's Trade Surplus Surges 73 Percent
Awaiting Real Sales From Virtual Shoppers
Portland's municipal Wi-Fi service disappoints
Transient storage offers extra protection
College duo basks in salon busines
The lure of great Google perks
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Couples fill important niche for trucking firms
Workforce issues may have derailed plant
Monthly budget-cutting tips: Part 2
New Kicks on Route 66 for Commercial Builders
Latest business books get back to basics
Big challenges ahead for operating systems
Retail Notebook: Carver holds on to tradition
Visa service fee found unlawful, rival says
Venture Capital: Startup to get patients talking
Inside Entrepreneurship: Deductions allowed on vehicles for business
2 local retailers buck the trend
Some employers offering relationship training
New catalog caters to living large
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Wall Street Journal Story
Not Copying Wal-Mart
Pays Off for Grocers
Stressing Less Hectic Stores
Help Supermarkets Recover
wsj June 6, 2007
After years of decline brought on by fighting Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on price, the nation's grocery chains are on the mend.
The supermarkets are winning back shoppers by sharpening their differences with Wal-Mart's price-obsessed supercenters, stressing less-hectic stores with exotic or difficult-to-match products and greater convenience. Last year, sales at supermarkets open at least a year rose 4%, the biggest increase in five years, according to retail consultants TNS Retail Forward. While the gains are still modest, the supermarkets got more good news last week when Wal-Mart announced it would cut back on new supercenter openings for the next several years.
Earlier this decade, the hidebound supermarket business was expected to fall before Wal-Mart's aggressive supercenter rollout and the rise of membership clubs like Costco Wholesale Corp. and high-end specialty chains like Whole Foods Market Inc. Many chains did collapse -- 26 filed for bankruptcy earlier this decade, unable to match the falling prices of their better-run rivals -- and a wave of consolidation swept the business. But the survivors rallied by redesigning stores, introducing a more relaxed shopping experience and marrying low-priced staples with higher-margin breads, meats and wine. Now, the stronger chains like Kroger Co. and SuperValu Inc. are taking market share from weaker, often regional, grocers.
Supermarkets have begun to attract new investment from those sensing a sustainable edge. Hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management LP recently joined two retailers in acquiring Albertson's Inc., a Boise, Idaho, chain, and Britain's Tesco PLC is expected to begin rolling out 100 U.S. stores in the Southwest later this year. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., once a symbol of the big chains' decline, recently acquired rival Pathmark Stores Inc. for $700 million.
Scott Frondorf, a 44-year-old Green Township, Ohio, software executive, and his wife now do more of their food shopping at a local Kroger store that offers expanded produce and "boutique-like" seafood, cheese and wine. The couple still shops occasionally at a huge warehouse market, but "momentum is definitely in the Kroger direction," says Mr. Frondorf.
Many of the chains are still learning to sidestep Wal-Mart. They are cutting back on drugs and health and beauty products, which are Wal-Mart strengths, to stress fresh produce, higher-quality meat and easy-to-prepare foods. Subdued lighting and high-end selections buttress the nonsupercenter experience. Instead of the rows of aisles with commonplace brands, the supermarkets are adding tables providing ingredients for planned meals, luring the kind of customer who shops for dinner instead of stocking up on groceries once a week, says Paul Weitzel, managing partner at grocery consultants Willard Bishop LLC. Mr. Frondorf says he was pleasantly surprised recently to find Kroger carried the walnut oil he needed for a gourmet recipe.
Safeway Inc. has converted about half of its 1,755 stores into "Lifestyle" markets with wood floors, on-site bakeries and high-end private-label brands. The third largest food retailer after Wal-Mart and Kroger, it expects to convert all its stores by 2009.
Safeway has also invested in precise temperature controls for its produce and other perishable foods as they move from suppliers to stores. And it strives to find food its competitors don't offer, says Steven A. Burd, Safeway's chairman. For instance, it worked with growers to get individual-sized watermelons two years before others. It also works with a single meat supplier to offer its own brand of tenderness-tested beef. The business picked up, says Mr. Burd, when "we started behaving more like a consumer packaged-goods company."
Supermarkets "have come to the understanding they can't put cookie-cutter stores out there anymore," says Sandra J. Skrovan, a senior vice president at TNS Retail Forward.
Safeway offers prepared foods. |
Kroger has an outlet for every consumer: urban no-frills stores that stock a limited set of groceries at ultra-low prices; conventional supermarkets and larger stores with housewares; and stores aimed at upper-crust shoppers that offer more produce and prepared foods.
David B. Dillon, Kroger's chief executive, estimates the Cincinnati-based chain gained share last year in 26 of the 32 areas where it competes against Wal-Mart supercenters. "They continue to grow, continue to build, continue to have impact in the market. But in the face of that, so do we," Mr. Dillon told analysts recently.
Becoming more competitive on price has meant skimpier margins. Kroger's gross margin, or profit after product costs, slumped to 24.5% at the end of last year from 27.7% at the end of fiscal 2001. Safeway's gross margin was 28.8% last year, down from 31.1% in 2002.
Wal-Mart hasn't lost its zeal for the food business. It opened 276 supercenters in the U.S. last year, helping boost its share of the U.S. grocery business by one percentage point, to 15.3% (19% including its Sam's Club wholesale unit), according to a JP Morgan estimate.
Wal-Mart plans to build about 200 new supercenters this year. Neil Currie, a retail analyst at UBS Securities LLC, says the new stores will add significantly to the square footage Wal-Mart devotes to food. "The Wal-Mart issue isn't going away," he says.
But Wal-Mart is no longer viewed as invincible. The company doesn't provide details of comparable-store food sales other than to say that such sales rose "in the mid-single digits" in the first quarter. Overall, same-store sales were up just 0.7% for the fiscal first quarter ended April 30.
Several years ago, Wal-Mart began experimenting with a smaller format store to penetrate urban markets. But these Neighborhood Market stores have struggled with tepid returns, according to analysts. Wal-Mart opened just 12 last year, down from 21 in 2005. "We're very satisfied with the performance of Neighborhood Markets," Eduardo Castro-Wright, head of Wal-Mart's U.S. stores division, said after the annual meeting last week. (Mr. Castro-Wright is a board member of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.)
Burt P. Flickinger III, a retail consultant, says Wal-Mart's price advantage has narrowed in the past few years as supermarkets have cut their prices and shoppers have discovered they can save money by cherry-picking supermarkets' weekly specials and lower-priced staples. At the same time, a corporate decision to reduce inventories means Wal-Mart has more trouble keeping shelves stocked, he says. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman responds that she is "not aware of any particular out-of-stock issues" in the company's grocery stores.
In Houston, Dave Baldwin says that too often the Wal-Mart supercenter near his house is out of favorite brands like Scope mouthwash and Lever body wash. "Try to find a light blue-cheese salad dressing; it isn't there. Go to Kroger, and it's all over the place," says Mr. Baldwin. He adds that the frustration of finding out-of-stock shelves has him buying more at Kroger and Walgreen's.
-- David Kesmodel contributed to this article.
Copyright © 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Business Articles of Note
Productivity falls in 1st quarter
More restaurants open until midnight
Conditions improve for small businesses
Economy will rebound soon, Bernanke says
EBay to take bids for radio spots amid offline ad push
A very quiet British invasion
For small-business loans, uncles may beat Uncle Sam
Sarbanes-Oxley: No more delays
A Niche Strategy Now Under Stress
The Dog Who Breathed a New Business
Amazon to increase spending in China
Local arts groups rev an economic engine
Best Buy lawyer admits he altered documents in suit
FTC fights proposed merger of food stores
New Internet service rates lawyers 1 to 10
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Monday, June 04, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Blast from past propels Interstate Power Sports
Business owners deal with rising shipping costs
Ice cream company gets sweet taste of expansion
Lack of schooling no bar to success
Bonus features aid TV DVD craze
Group helps mom with job re-entry
Consumers unaware of digital TV change
E-mail storage turns into growing concern
Orders to factories post weakest advance in 3 months
Wal-Mart shares rise after it says it plans to trim store growth
Family finances: Web-bank checking accounts
Fever Builds for iPhone (Anxiety Too)
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Poll: 1 in 5 bring laptop on vacation to stay in touch
Retail Notebook: Bunny spawned business
Google's street-level views raise concerns -- 'It's like peeping'
More drivers, including Utah's governor, are switching to natural gas
Ash-scattering companies feed rising demand
Small Talk: Businesses shouldn't use interns as substitute employees
On the Job: Want to succeed? Try quitting
Fast food serves up hot tips for management
Genius and Misfit Aren’t Synonyms, or Are They?
First and Long — Very Long
For the Chronically Late, It’s Not a Power Trip
Utah's excellent entrepreneurs: Ernst & Young awards to honor best in state
73% of employees note ethical lapses at their workplace
Best Vinyl re-creates fencing world
Shared vision helps to maintain an entrepreneurial balance
Make the most of online auctions
DirectPointe mirrors founder's story
ANS chief balances responsibilities
CareerStep empowers thousands
Body Firm offers fitness, reliability
Costume Craze flourishing online
Eclipse works to bring skies to all
Entrepreneur designs GoEngineer
WesTech workers involved, rewarded
QuicKutz cuts costs with local plant
Friday, June 01, 2007
Business Articles of Note
Sears reports 8th-straight sales decline
Economy slows: Growth in the first quarter is worst showing in 4 years
Wal-Mart facing class-action suit
Starbucks switches to 2% milk
Venture Capital: Facebook link puts iLike in orbit
Inside Entrepreneurship: Widen scope when seeking venture funding