Zale Closing 105 Stores This Year

DALLAS-Jewelry retailer Zale Corp. is closing 105 stores this year in efforts to improve operations. The move follows a same-store sales decrease of 7.3% year over year during its second quarter, which executives reported Feb. 7.
Of the 105 closures, 90 are underperforming locations and 50 of them are kiosk shops. The units will close as [...]

Google coming out tops

This week, Google’s brand has been ranked in the top position in the annual Brandz Top 100 Most Powerful Brands ranking. According to the ranking, the Google brand is now worth US$66,434 million.
Following in second and third place are General Electric and Microsoft with brand values of US$61,880 million and US$54,951 million respectively.
The ranking [...]

Tesco Accelerates Its Expansion In South China

The first Tesco Guangzhou store has opened at Sheng Di Plaza, Baiyun District, Guangzhou, which is Tesco’s first wholly-owned foreign store in south China.
Tony Hoggett, operation director of Tesco (South China), says that Tesco will start its large-scale expansion with single-owned stores and in 2008 it will focus on first-tier cities in the Southern China [...]

McDonald’s Opens Built-In Coffee Shop In Guangzhou

McDonald’s told local media during the 15th anniversary ceremony of McDonald’s Guangzhou that the company’s first in-store coffee shop in Guangdong will open as a McCafe.
On January 7, 2008, McDonald’s announced that it would open coffee shops in the 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants in America.
“McDonald’s in China will be consistent with other McDonald’s around the world. [...]

Starbucks’ new pledge: We’ll be perfect

After barista retraining coffee chain pledges faultless coffee.
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 [...]