Tag Archives: retail

Yesterday JC Penney CEO Ron Johnson stepped down after the company’s stock value plummeted by 50% during his 18-month tenure.  Anti-gay groups are cheering the news as proof that the public had rejected his hiring of Ellen Degeneres as their celebrity spokesperson. Johnson tried nixing sale events in favor of everyday low prices, and almost immediately found resistance from shoppers …

Seen at the Belk department store chain. (Via Copyranter)

A pack of cigarettes usually costs $12 to $14 at NYC locations, but some retailers occasionally run tobacco industry promotions that bring the price down a few dollars. Mayor Bloomberg wants to end that practice by setting a minimum price of $10.50 in order to stem impulse purchases, particularly by young people. According to a Federal Trade Commission report issued …

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose almost-annual tax increases over the last decade have raised the price of cigarettes to over $14 per pack at many retailers, today revealed his latest plan to curb smoking. Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference that the proposal would make New York the first city in the nation to keep tobacco products …

My pal Dr. Jeff took this photo today at the Bass Pro Shop in the Concord Mills Mall outside Charlotte, North Carolina.  My first thought was to wonder when hunters started carrying pistols, but a quick check reveals that Bass presently sells 112 models of handguns.  At the mall which bills itself as “North Carolina’s largest tourist attraction” with over …

Some of the horse meat that’s been labeled as beef in European supermarkets may not even be horse meat. A law banning horses from Romanian roads may be responsible for the surge in the fraudulent sale of horse meat on the European beef market, a French politician said today.  Horse-drawn carts were a common form of transport for centuries in …

The Germany-based supermarket chain Aldi yesterday confirmed that some “beef” products recently pulled from shelves in Britain actually contained as much as 100% horsemeat. Horsemeat has also been found in beef-labeled products in several other British chains. The Guardian reports: The Metropolitan police said in a statement it was not carrying out a criminal investigation. “Although we have met with …

Jezebel has more examples from the ad campaign for a new line of “personal hygiene wipes.”

The state of Oregon is following up on a discrimination complaint from a lesbian couple who were refused service by a wedding cake baker. Did Sweet Cakes owner Aaron Klein violate the law when he told the couple that he couldn’t sell them a cake because “they were abominations to the Lord?” That’s what Oregon Attorney General’s civil enforcement officers …

Source.

Nielsen has come to the shocking conclusion that gay men go shopping a lot. American same-sex partnered households have significant spending power. In fact, same-sex partnered households make 16 percent more shopping trips than the average U.S. household each year (173 average shopping trips vs. 149 average shopping trips for total U.S. households), according to a recent Nielsen report measuring …

Apple Insider speculates: An historic landmark building at the epicenter of San Francisco’s gay district is rumored to become the city’s fourth Apple Store. Citing “plugged in tipsters,” real estate blog SocketSite noted today that Apple is rumored to have set its sights on the property, which originally served as a Bank of America. The building has most recently served …

Billboard reports that Britain’s last national music retailer has declared bankruptcy. Ailing music and entertainment retailer HMV is to suspend the trading of its shares and enter administration, the U.K. equivalent of Chapter 11 bank protection, the company has confirmed. The troubled music company is the U.K.’s last major high street music retailer and has over 230 brick and mortar …

Alvia Shen writes at Think Progress: A smoothie shop in Vernal, Utah is sparking outrage over an unorthodox pricing structure that charges liberals an extra dollar. The shop, tellingly named the I Love Drilling Juice and Smoothie Bar, is owned by George Burnett, a pro-oil and gas activist. He donates the extra money to conservative organizations like the Heritage Foundation. …

Lifehacker tips us to Freshneck, a new website that it calls the “Netflix for neck ties.” If you put on a tie every day or the dress code at work is formal enough that you could use help keeping your wardrobe fresh, FreshNeck can help. It’s a subscription service that lets you select up to three ties, cufflinks, pocket squares …

From the sales materials: “Pussy packs a punch. Punch? Actually, it’s more like being gently placed on a huge velvet cushion then being carried around the whole night with a back rub and table service thrown in for good measure.” Pussy is grape flavored. So now you know. (Tipped by JMG reader Iain)

Embiggen for bargains advice. (Via Lifehacker)

Somebody call One Million Moms, because two homosexual men are featured in the latest Crate & Barrel campaign, where they can be seen shamelessly flaunting their perversion all over their artfully staged fauxtique home. (Tipped by JMG reader Diane)

On Friday the Bay Area Reporter discussed a Christmas Eve protest at Cliff’s Variety, which is arguably the most beloved retailer in the Castro. A small but spirited group of demonstrators held informational pickets outside Cliff’s Variety on Castro Street last week after some of them were forcibly removed by employees for loudly protesting inside the store on Christmas Eve. …