Wegmans, Starbucks and Whole Foods were among the retailers featured on Fortune’s 2008 “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. Other retailers that made the list include Nugget Markets, eBay, The Container Store, Stew Leonard’s, Recreational Equipment, Nordstrom, CarMax and Publix.

Out of the retailers listed, Wegmans was the only one that retained its No. 3 position from the previous year. Starbucks (No. 7), Nugget Markets (No. 12) Whole Foods (No. 16), Stew Leonard’s (No. 26), and CarMax (No. 46) all jumped to higher positions on the list. Recreational Equipment (No. 34), Nordstrom (No. 36) and Publix (No. 91) had dropped from their previous spots.

The Container Store, which was included in the top ten in 2007, fell to the 20th position in 2008.

eBay, which did not appear on the 2007 list, was No. 68 in 2008.

According to Netease.com, Apple is applying for a business license for the new store, and in order to maintain the original feel of the Qianmen area, Apple will give up its standard design to coordinate with China’s architectural features.

Qianmen Street is currently undergoing a US$40 million renovation and it is expected to be built into a walking street home to more than 300 well-known brands like Adidas and Starbucks.

Warrior, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at the Cisco Systems, has been ranked among the top 15 women in business by a magazine.

The PINK magazine’s Top 15 Women in Business — “The Innovators” list identifies remarkable women leaders who use ideas to transform companies every single day.

From Michelle Gass, just promoted to senior vice president of global strategy at Starbucks, to Union Pacific Railroad’s Diane

Duren, who developed a new train route that delivers millions in revenue annually, these women create change in their organisations

– the kind that births new generations of products and has an immediate impact on the bottom line, says the magazine that caters to America’s career-focused women.

Warrior, who joined Cisco in December 2007 after stepping down as the Vice President and CTO of Motorola has been known as a driving force for innovation at Motorola and knowing how to harness the creative power of engineers.

Warrior, 47, raised in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, India, holds a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from IIT Delhi and a M.S. degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University. In 2007 she was awarded Doctor of Engineering, Honoris Causa from New York’s Polytechnic University.

Besides Padmasree, some other women making to the list in the March-April issue of the magazine are: Cathy Avgiris (Comcast), Barbara Beck (Manpower), Irene Chang Britt (Campbell Soup), Laurie Brubaker (Aetna), Diane Duren (Union Pacific Railroad), Julie England (Texas Instruments), Michelle Gass (Starbucks).

Source : PTI

According to a source close to the deal, the gourmet food format is likely to be integrated with Reliance Fresh “wherever possible,” (upmarket localities) as a shop-in-shop format. This would help M&S get immediate scale in food business. There are 491 Reliance Fresh stores that sell food, FMCG and fruits and vegetables and this figure is likely to touch 1,400 by the end of next fiscal.

“The implications of this particular JV are much deeper. It’s much more holistic in nature and therefore taking long to seal,” the source added.

The $16-billion M&S, operating in the country through a franchisee arrangement with Planet Retail since 2001, is in the midst of charting a new India strategy aimed at accelerating expansion in the domestic market. It recently slashed prices by 20% to attract more footfalls in the stores and taking prime space in malls to open more stores.

Planet Retail was earlier a 51:49 JV between Indonesian NRI VP Sharma and Pantaloon Retail. The JV has now been called off and the brands that it was managing has been divided into fashion (Sharma) and sports (Pantaloon).

Indian government allows foreign retail companies to invest up to 51% in Indian retail companies on the condition that they sell goods under a single brand. It also allows 100% foreign investment in wholesale business. What it still does not allow is foreign investment in companies that sell goods of more than one brand directly to consumers.

The fear is that such a move would kill small grocery businesses – the mainstay of everyday shopping in India. So, while Starbucks, Louis Vuitton and M&S are allowed to come in as they sell goods under a single brand globally, Carrefour and Wal-Mart are not allowed to sell to consumers directly as they sell thousands of brands.

Informed sources said the senior Ambani’s core team has made significant progress in its talks with M&S, which also had preliminary engagements with other Indian corporates like AV Birla group, Mahindras, Trent and even the audit firm Lodha &Co.

Clair Foster, M&S’ spokesperson in London, declined to comment on market rumours. The UK retailer operates more than 20 stores in India out of the 760-strong network globally. M&S recently set up a business development team in Bangalore under senior executive Spencer Sheen to rework the India gameplan.

Sources said M&S would settle for a 50:50 JV with Reliance, in a marked departure from its earlier stance that it would like to keep the maximum permissible 51% stake under FDI regulations in single-brand retaiing. Troubled by stagnant growth in matured markets, M&S is looking to rapidly scale up operations in expanding economies like India and China.

M&S may have found a match in Reliance, which is carrying out one of the most ambitious retail rollouts in this part of the world. For Reliance, the UK retailer’s stature as a leading global mid-market fashion trend-setters will augment its key apparel retailing vertical.

In context, it may be mentioned that Reliance has adopted a pragmatic approach of floating joint ventures that may help bring in critical domain expertise or a definitive brand edge. Its JV with Citigroup for retail financial services, and another one with US home improvement company Lowe are pointers in this direction.

SEATTLE – A day after shutting down most of its U.S. shops for three hours to retrain baristas on espresso basics, Starbucks is welcoming customers back Wednesday with a new promise posted in stores: “Your drink should be perfect, every time. If not, let us know and we’ll make it right.”

Starbucks Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz said the 135,000 baristas who got the refresher course pledged to uphold “the uncompromising standards and quality that have made Starbucks the world’s coffee leader.”

Nearly 7,100 company-operated Starbucks stores across the U.S. – all except the licensed shops in supermarkets, airports, malls, hotels and the like – closed at 5:30 p.m. local time Tuesday for a teach-in that was part espresso tutorial, part pep rally.

Instead of dumping shots straight into the paper cups they’ll serve to customers, Starbucks baristas are getting back to pouring espresso into shot glasses first. “You get to see if it’s a quality shot of espresso,” store manager Justin Chapple, 25, said during a training session at a New York City store.

Starbucks switched to automatic espresso machines years ago, but it still takes skill to work them. Baristas have to adjust the grind to make sure a shot doesn’t pour too quickly, making it watery, or too slowly, making it bitter.

“It’s not as simple as pushing a button,” said Ann-Marie Kurtz, Starbucks’ manager of global coffee and tea education.

Starbucks wouldn’t disclose how much revenue it stands to lose during the shutdown, but analysts say the financial impact will be negligible compared to charges the company will take as it closes about 100 poorly performing U.S. stores this year and pays severance to more than 200 corporate support staff it laid off last week.

U.S. stores make up the bulk of Starbucks’ revenue, which totaled $9.4 billion in fiscal 2007, when the company earned more than $672 million.

Robert Toomey, an analyst with E.K. Riley Investments, said he didn’t expect a surly backlash from customers getting turned away. “It’s a low-traffic time of day,” he said. “The risk of ticking off customers is pretty minimal.”

It makes sense to tackle the training in one fell swoop, and it shows the company – which has seen its stock slide about 50 percent since late 2006 – is committed to turning itself around, Toomey said.

“They know they’ve fallen short,” Toomey said. “The quality of the product has deteriorated a bit over the last few years, and they know they’ve got to improve it.”

Christina Mallozzy, a pharmaceutical saleswoman, looked miffed when she walked up to a Starbucks on Manhattan’s Upper East Side only to find out it was closed. “I’m not furious. My life’s not going to end,” said Mallozzy, 25. She was, however, annoyed because she had she had gone to the trouble of snagging a parking space.

Meanwhile in Seattle, a line a dozen people deep snaked outside one of Caffe Vita Coffee Roasting Co.’s Seattle shops at dusk Tuesday, as the local chain gave away free espresso drinks while the world’s largest gourmet coffee retailer shut its doors.

“Free-market economy, baby! You’ve got to take advantage of what the competition throws at you,” squealed Amy Grooms, a 29-year-old accountant who said she quit going to Starbucks once she moved to Seattle, because she thinks independents brew better-tasting coffee.

Other rivals offered similar deals. Dunkin’ Donuts slashed the price of its small lattes, cappuccinos and other coffee drinks for 99 cents for most of the day. Yet spokeswoman Michelle King demurred when asked if it was a competitive jab at Starbucks.

“We are offering this promotion today because there is an opportunity to reach a large number of coffee drinkers, as well as provide our own loyal customers with a great deal,” King said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

McDonald’s Corp., which has been trying to steal Starbucks customers by revamping its coffee menu, declined to comment on Starbucks’ training effort and offered no special deals Tuesday.

Starbucks plans to train its international employees over the next month, as well as baristas who work at the company’s more than 4,000 licensed shops.

Source: Associated Press

The coffee shops are to be opened at airports and railway stations and come as the chain looks to offset a slumping U.S. market with overseas growth.

Earlier this month Starbucks opened its first coffee shop in Argentina through a Mexican partnership.

The European deal is Starbucks’ largest licensing agreement outside the United States, according to The Wall Street Journal, and could test Europeans’ appetite for yet more take-out coffee.

“This collaboration aligns with our strategy to accelerate growth in our international business,” Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said in a statement.

“It provides us with a strong platform to further expand the Starbucks brand across Europe.”

SSP is a food-retail operator that already runs three airport Starbucks and also operates Burger King and Pizza Hut outlets.

In November Starbucks reported its first quarterly drop in U.S. customer traffic to established stores and the trend has continued.

Starbucks announcement that it will close 600 stores in the U.S. is a long-overdue admission that there are limits to growth.

In February 2007, a leaked internal memo written by founder Howard Schultz showed that he recognized the problem that his own growth strategy had created: “Stores no longer have the soul of the past and reflect a chain of stores vs. the warm feeling of a neighborhood store.” Starbucks tried to add value through innovation, offering wi-fi service, creating and selling its own music. More recently, Starbucks attempted to put the focus back on coffee, revitalizing the quality of its standard beverages. But none of these moves addressed the fundamental problem: Starbucks is a mass brand attempting to command a premium price for an experience that is no longer special. Either you have to cut price (and that implies a commensurate cut in the cost structure) or you have to cut distribution to restore the exclusivity of the brand. Expect the 600 store closings to be the first of a series of downsizing announcements. Sometimes, in the world of marketing, less is more.

Schultz sought, admirably, to bring good coffee and the Italian coffee house experience to the American mass market. Wall Street bought into the vision of Starbucks as the “third place” after home and work. New store openings and new product launches fueled the stock price. But sooner or later chasing quarterly earnings growth targets undermined the Starbucks brand in three ways.

First, the early adopters who valued the club-like atmosphere of relaxing over a quality cup of coffee found themselves in a minority. To grow, Starbucks increasingly appealed to grab and go customers for whom service meant speed of order delivery rather than recognition by and conversation with a barista. Starbucks introduced new store formats like Express to try to cater to this second segment without undermining the first. But many Starbucks veterans have now switched to Peets, Caribou and other more exclusive brands.

Second, Starbucks introduced many new products to broaden its appeal. These new products undercut the integrity of the Starbucks brand for coffee purists. They also challenged the baristas who had to wrestle with an ever-more-complicated menu of drinks. With over half of customers customizing their drinks, baristas hired for their social skills and passion for coffee, no longer had time to dialogue with customers. The brand experience declined as waiting times increased. Moreover, the price premium for a Starbucks coffee seemed less justifiable for grab and go customers as McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts improved their coffee offerings at much lower prices.

Third, opening new stores and launching a blizzard of new products create only superficial growth. Such strategies take top management’s eye off of improving same store sales year-on-year. This is the heavy lifting of retailing, where a local store manager has to earn brand loyalty and increase purchase frequency in his neighborhood one customer at a time. That store manager’s efforts are undercut when additional stores are opened nearby. Eventually, the point of saturation is reached and cannibalization of existing store sales undermines not just brand health but also manager morale.

None of this need have happened if Starbucks had stayed private and grown at a more controlled pace. To continue to be a premium-priced brand while trading as a public company is very challenging. Tiffany faces a similar problem. That’s why many luxury brands like Prada remain family businesses or are controlled by private investors. They can stay small, exclusive and premium-priced by limiting their distribution to selected stores in the major international cities.

The Seattle-based chain, facing a US consumer slowdown, higher food costs and more competition, had said this month it would close 600 unprofitable outlets in the United States but would continue its expansion in international markets.

Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz portrayed the Australian move as a refocus of operations, not a retreat.

“We are well into the implementation phase of transforming Starbucks and we believe this difficult, yet necessary, decision to close stores in Australia will help support the continued growth of our international business,” he said in a statement.

Starbucks first opened in Australia in 2000 as part of a rapid global expansion, but faced a highly competitive market with a well-entrenched coffee culture in the major cities.

The company said it would now refocus its operations on the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Gourmet coffee shops are already a common feature in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s two biggest cities, where a cosmopolitan cafe culture has thrived since postwar Italian immigration introduced espresso to the nation in the 1950s.

And in the aftermath of Starbucks’ drastic downsizing, it is also a big contra-statement about the viability of foreign retail formats on Australian soil.

It is actually the third Australian store for the 200-unit British chain, but the first to be located in one of our genuinely iconic shopping centres. As the retailer’s proud Australian MD, David Herman, thinks of it, Pets at Home is ”going mainstream.”

Can Pets at Home beat the odds and become a durably successful foreign retail concept in Australia? Small pet supplies retailers and the established larger chains will be watching with interest.

If the newcomer does succeed, it will be a slap in the face to our nation’s choir of retail ockers, who have been in fine voice since Starbucks hacked off three quarters of its Australian store fleet a few weeks ago.

Starbucks’ actions elicited nothing short of glee in some quarters: another foreign retailer bombs!

The coffee beans aren’t as good as the ones at competing coffee outlets! The barristas don’t know how to brew the stuff! The management doesn’t understand our culture!

And then there was the unmistakable whiff of Tall Poppyism: We won’t be told which coffee to drink by a big-shot multinational!

If you think you’ve heard this kind of claptrap before you’re not wrong.

Every time a foreign retailer or business of any kind begins to struggle in the Australian market – and make no mistake about it, there have been many – the pie-and-chips crowd moves in to gloat over the remains.

The sad thing about this kind of xenophobia is that Australian retail is in some respects in a wretched state, falling further and further behind the world’s best, and desperately in need of foreign investment and innovation in the sector.

Sure, we’ve got a genuinely world class department store chain and some powerful brands like Billabong that have gone forth and conquered.

But retailers like David Jones, Billabong and a small handful of others are not enough. Retail has its own gene pool that constantly needs to be reinvigorated from outside, or it becomes weak and sickly.

Indeed, foreign investment is probably the only thing that can genuinely improve Australia’s standing in the retail world over the long haul, and may be one of the few obstacles to the gradual exodus of consumers to the internet where they can easily obtain global brands outside of this country.

This exodus is already occurring. After all, if the brands don’t come here then it’s only to be expected that consumers will go to the brands at the first opportunity.

In the year through June 2008 sales by US retailers over the internet totalled a formidable $US 134.1 billion.

Although data isn’t available on how much of this total was attributable to foreigners, the retailers themselves make no secret of the fact that it is one of their most effective and fastest-growing global marketing and sales channels.

The problem for our retailers in Australia is that people travel too much these days and get too much information over the internet. They know what’s out there and they will increasingly gravitate to it. This may not be immediately noticeable in the form of a dramatic sales fall-off for local retailers.

It happens over time, insidiously, under the radar, like the ageing of the population. International retailers that come to Australia with physical stores can help stop some of the leakage.

They can infuse our retail scene with new products, formats and service models that Aussie retailers can be maddingly slow to adopt. (e.g. where was unit pricing until Aldi, a foreign retailer, arrived?)

Pets at home, a superstore format that incorporates the usual pet food and ancillary products with a number of associated services, such as pet grooming, veterinary services and pet adoption, is the latest incarnation of a concept that has been around in the UK, through Pets at home’s parent company, and the US, in the form of retailers such as Petco and PetSmart, for a number of years.

But in Australia it was virtually unknown until David Herman came along.

The pet services/merchandise convergence gives the store terrific destination appeal and enables the retailer to capture crossover product sales from the grooming and vet operations.

For example, animals examined by the vet can get their prescribed medicines a few paces away at the in-store pharmacy.

Pets at home is not the lone ranger of foreign retail in Australia.

Canada’s high-end technical sportswear concept Lululemon Athletica is slowly getting traction through its stores in Melbourne and Sydney, while Lush, an upscale health and beauty retailer from the UK, is already well established.

Germany’s Aldi is snapping at the heels of the supermarket majors, a phenomenon that was well documented during the recent ACCC inquiry into food prices.

Costco, the US warehouse club retailer, may soon enter the fray as well and has the potential to make a significant impact on the existing players in a number of merchandise categories.

Pets at home, Lululemon Athletica, Lush, Aldi and Costco are five worldbeaters. Australia’s small retailers should watch closely because there is a lot to learn about just about every aspect of the retailing arts.

And the retail ockers can stop thumping their chests and sit down.

International retail entrants will not stop the inexorable appeal of shopping on the internet for exotic foreign brands, but they will help us keep up with the best that store-based retailing has to offer.

Brussels Airport Company said: “Passengers travelling to European destinations will see a totally new shopping centre at Brussels Airport. This project comprises a number of spectacular new projects from Sky Shops and Autogrill under their own banners or with partner brands (Quick, Starbucks, Flament) while many famous brand names (Esprit, Massimo Dutti, Puma, River Woods, Samsonite Black Label) open their own label stores.

“Shopping at the airport will gain a new dimension,” the airport added. “It is the result of major market research and a response to the needs of the modern air passenger.”