Describes the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) effort to develop productivity measures for an increasing number of service industries. Discusses problems of measuring productivity and explains how BLS is working to overcome those problems. (JOW)

Improvement of turnover (the rate of merchandise activity in a store) can mean more sales and more profits for college stores. Some ways to improve merchandise turnover include improved store layout, merchandise mix, and purchasing techniques. (MLW)

Responses from 38 of 184 retailing graduates, 24 of 111 recruiters in the apparel field, 58 of 200 retail merchandising educators, and 45 of 47 current students found that differences in their ratings of the importance of 53 competencies for entry workers centered on three factors: merchandising, leadership, and monitoring. (SK)

In responses from 205 of 1,400 retail managers (63% male) on measures of leadership roles and personal values, women showed more affinity to mentor and broker roles. Values such as social affiliation and growth predicted mentor and broker roles and job characteristics such as feedback predicted broker roles. (Contains 77 references.) (SK)

A survey of 466 women employed in retailing received 205 responses identifying (1) factors influencing the success and advancement of women in retailing and (2) how those factors differ for women in upper versus middle positions. Upper-level executives placed more importance on ambition and abilities; midlevel executives credited opportunity and…

Describes Providence Place Academy in Rhode Island, the "School at the Mall" where students work for 90 minutes per day at various stores to learn about the retail industry while reinforcing what they learn in the retail/marketing-based curriculum and acquiring customer service skills. (JOW)

The services and retailing trade industry divisions will account for nearly three-fourths of all new jobs from 1998-2008, a continuation of the 1988-1998 pattern of employment growth. (Author)

This article combines a statistical analysis with qualitative research to investigate the dynamics of collective violence in one of its most recurrent forms--the food riot. Using an original dataset collected by the authors on 289 food riot episodes occurring in Argentina in December 2001, the article argues for the need to dissect the local,…

The soft-drink industry vowed to voluntarily curb selling sugary sodas and other high-calorie beverages in schools, a move that was taken under threat of litigation by critics who see the industry as a prime culprit in a national obesity crisis. The promise offered no guarantee that schools would go along with the restrictions, though many…

Details a training program designed by the Zale Corporation to develop professional store management staff. Includes the specific goals, methodology, description, and results of the program, which has become an integral part of the Zale Corporation and a contributor to the success of the company. (JOW)

Benchmarks online retailing transactions against critical factors that impact online retailing. Findings suggest several areas that e-retailers should target for improvement, including the speed of home page loading, ability to translate into multiple languages, capabilities of search engines, security policies display, payment options, minimum…

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test a retail store image scale based on the work of Zimmer and Golden and others. Responses of 720 adult shoppers support a model with image dimensions of general store attributes; appearance; and salespeople and service. (SLD)

Marketing students (n=141) completed a pretest describing retail customers most likely to shoplift and viewed videotaped scenarios in which security personnel suspected shoplifting based on ethnic characteristics. A significant gap was apparent between participants' predispositions and actual shoplifting statistics. The videos raised awareness of…