Retail
by John M. Zukoski on January 27, 2012 | 
No Comments | Topics: Retail
Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, the value-priced grocer of healthful and convenient products, has experienced tremendous success with its Pleasanton, Danville, and Walnut Creek stores. The upstart market has hit a growth spurt lately with roughly 20 future stores planned throughout the Northern California area. Some new stores even have a convenience store format similar to a 7-Eleven.
Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market offers a variety of ways to save including the “buy one get one,” “half off,” and other standard discounts on meats, meals, fruits, and vegetables readily available to all shoppers. For customers who are looking to stretch their dollars a little further, they can join Fresh & Easy’s Friends program to save even more money. These bonus points are in addition to the reward points many shoppers get from their credit cards.
The Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market’s Friends is pretty straightforward. Shoppers who sign up will immediately receive 250 points in their accounts. Every $1 spent at Fresh & Easy earns another point. Every 500 points earned can be converted to $5 in-store cash.
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by John M. Zukoski on January 9, 2012 | 6 Comments | Topics: Local Businesses · Opinions · Retail
Residents living in and around Dublin, CA shop at Target for everything from diapers to electronics to groceries. The addition of the East Dublin Target at Fallon Gateway has made bargain retail much more accessible for consumers; however, many families are ditching Target for Amazon Prime as a way to save money and to get the best selection on everyday items. Although shopping at Target is fairly easy for most folks, shopping with Amazon Prime is even more convenient for people whose busy schedules make that trip to the store a luxury they cannot afford.
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by John M. Zukoski on January 4, 2012 | 8 Comments | Topics: Development · Local Businesses · Opinions · Parks · Restaurants · Retail
Dublin, CA and the greater Tri-Valley region had a phenomenal year in 2011, but 2012 is expected to bring many more thrills and surprises for residents. This year should be one marked by the emergence of fantastic shopping centers, restaurants, new parks and paths, and other amenities to be enjoyed by all. While the reasons for optimism are limitless, the Around Dublin Team would like to share our top 10 list of things to look forward to in 2012.
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by John M. Zukoski on January 3, 2012 | 9 Comments | Topics: Local Businesses · Opinions · Retail
Sears Holding Company recently announced that it will soon be shuttering up to 120 of its underperforming Sears and Kmart stores. While the Pleasanton Sears at Stoneridge Mall has been left off the initial list of 80 stores, the sputtering store may eventually get the axe as most shoppers simply cut through the store from the parking lot to the rest of the mall. While electronics and appliance sales at the Stoneridge Mall location appear to be brisk, the second and third floors with home goods and apparel see fewer people than Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery in Hayward on a rainy Wednesday afternoon.
Much like rescue boats hurtling passengers from the Titanic, Sears also spun off its interest in the expanding Orchard Supply Hardware chain of stores recently to help retain some value for investors.
Celebrated hedge fund legend Eddie Lampert has led the turnaround attempt at Sears and Kmart for the past few years. Initially, Lampert was able to provide tremendous results by cutting costs to the bone. Lampert’s strategy provided a short term boost to profits, but it also damaged the Sears and Kmart brand. Irritated customers have flooded online forums with complaints about deteriorating stores, poor customer service, and lackluster merchandise.
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by John M. Zukoski on January 2, 2012 | No Comments | Topics: Announcements · Retail · Things To Do
The Bay Area RV Expo will be held from January 6th to January 16th at Sky River RV’s new dealership in Dublin, CA. “The Expo will be the Northern California premier of the new ‘Vantage’ travel-trailer from Keystone as well as the new ‘Warrior Toy Haulers’” from Extreme Warrior,” said Scott Thorpe, managing partner of Sky River RV. The event will offer new and pre-owned RV’s covering the entire RV spectrum. It is an opportunity for the customer to see the A-Z’s of RV’s in one convenient location. Technicians will be available to answer any questions.
Manufactures new products that will be on display include Skyline, Monaco R-Vision, Keystone, Newmar, Forest River, Thor Motor Coach, Extreme Warrior, Livn’ Lite, Travel Lite and others. Manufactures representatives will be available for any customer questions.
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by John M. Zukoski on December 27, 2011 | No Comments | Topics: Local Businesses · Opinions · Retail
The bankruptcy of Borders and the closing of its Pleasanton store was a short-term blessing for the Barnes & Noble at Hacienda Crossings in Dublin, CA; however, the demise of the Borders brand could signal a long-term decline for the storied book superstore, as readers move increasingly faster towards eBooks. According to the company’s own press statement, Barnes & Noble has captured over 25% of the electronic reader market. Barnes & Noble is well-positioned to ditch its brick-and-mortar locations like the Dublin Hacienda Crossings superstore, as its head-on competition with Amazon heats up in 2012.
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by John M. Zukoski on November 29, 2011 | 2 Comments | Topics: Local Issues · Opinions · Retail
For many shoppers, the only thing more interesting than Black Friday’s door-busting low prices are the stories of Black Friday’s tramplings, shootings, and other bad behaviors that ensue when shoppers “stop being polite and start getting real.” According to Kit Yarrow, a consumer research psychologist who teaches at Golden Gate University, the knowledge that “only the strongest are going to be able to get the bargain is what causes that desperation people feel.” To the victor go the spoils indeed.
America’s largest retailer Walmart had its share of madness this past Black Friday when a group was robbed and one person shot in the San Leandro Walmart parking lot, a Southern California woman allegedly pepper-sprayed fellow shoppers to secure an Xbox 360 with Kinect, and one unfortunate shopper unintentionally mooned the camera in what will be known as the Waffle Riot of 2011. Unlike its sister stores, the Walmart in Livermore, CA was a model of civility and consideration this past Black Friday as shoppers worked together to secure great bargains without gun shots or pepper-spraying.
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by John M. Zukoski on November 28, 2011 | No Comments | Topics: Local Businesses · Opinions · Retail
In the United States, Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day, which traditionally kicks off the holiday shopping season. It also marks the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit or are “in the black.” With many retailers throughout the country, including those in and around Dublin, CA, opening their doors on Thanksgiving night, what used to be “Black Friday” has now become “Black Thursday” with the early start. According to early estimates by the National Retail Federation, 226 million shoppers visited stores and online during the four-day holiday weekend, up from 212 million last year. The same report also indicated that the average holiday shopper spent $398.62 this weekend, which is up from $365.34 a year ago. In a year of mostly gloomy economic news, these numbers are giving retailers hope for better profits. “A solid Black Friday suggests the rest of the season should be pretty good,” said Ken Perkins, president of Swampscott, Massachusetts-based Retail Metrics. “Those who have jobs have been willing to spend.”
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by John M. Zukoski on November 24, 2011 | 1 Comment | Topics: Development · Local Businesses · Restaurants · Retail
The All-America City of Dublin, CA has much to be thankful for in 2011. A thawing economy, an improving job market, and a thrilling election season ahead provide the backdrop for this year’s Thanksgiving celebrations, as more and more families move to the newer part of town for its highly rated K-8 schools and well-designed parks. Spurred by the influx of new arrivals, the pace of new home construction in East Dublin has picked up significantly over the past year, seemingly bucking the national trend.
Dublin’s historic big-box shopping district has seen a tremendous resurgence with the grand openings of DSW, Half Price Books, Sprouts Farmers Market, REI, and Sports Authority. Billionaire developer Rick Caruso’s $13M purchase of the 14-acre parcel next to Hacienda Crossings and Sybase has captured the imagination of the Tri-Valley, as everyone eagerly awaits the latest high-end retail masterpiece by the renowned shopping center magnate. While details remain scarce about the Caruso project, tilt-up construction has already begun at Paragon Outlets in Livermore, which is kitty corner from the new Target at Fallon Gateway in Dublin. According to some bullish estimates, the new Livermore outlet mall may open as early as November 2012, just in time for next year’s Black Friday extravaganza.
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