Greater Norristown PAL To Hold First Job Fair June 24

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NORRISTOWN, PA — It’s not every job fair organizer that offers to hook up applicants with a necktie if he needs one, but Ken Fennal is passionate about making Greater Norristown PAL’s first open job fair a success for all concerned.

And that extends to making sure every male applicant who shows up is dressed to impress.

“If someone needs a tie they should contact me and I’ll provide them with a tie myself,” said Fennal, PAL’s program director. “Men should at least wear a tie, if not a suit or sport jacket. First impressions can make the difference in getting a second interview or being hired on the spot, versus another candidate who may have the same level of skills but may not be dressed appropriately. We know the difference in going to an interview dressed well or wearing something casual, but a young person may not know that. We want to emphasize that they should be prepared properly when they come in the door, so I think not only is it appropriate to have a dress code, social standards dictate that you should be dressed a certain way for certain professions.”

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/business/20140623/greater-norristown-pal-to-hold-first-job-fair-june-24

Many Shoppers Say No To Buying On Thanksgiving Day

You have to wonder what Norman Rockwell’s interpretation of Thanksgiving would be today. His classic 1943 Thanksgiving painting,“Freedom from Want,” which shows Ma placing a beautifully browned turkey down for Pa to carve, family members eagerly leaning in over the dinner table and grinning at one another, doesn’t seem complete anymore.

There are no digital devices to be seen, the family roles might be a little outdated and, of course, there isn’t an inset panel showing a son or a daughter stocking shelves or working the checkout line at Best Buy or The Gap, both of which are open on Thanksgiving Day this year.

In competition for your holiday spending dollars, retailers have pushed what has been known as Black Friday well into the day before — that is, Thanksgiving Day. Some find it an affront to Thanksgiving traditions. For others, it threatens what have become Black Friday family traditions, too.

Becka Pankowski, 42, of Fountain, Colo., is quitting her long-held Black Friday tradition altogether, saying she’s opposed to the Thanksgiving openings.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/lifestyle/20131125/many-shoppers-say-no-to-buying-on-thanksgiving-day

Samsung Opening 1,400 Mini-Shops Inside Best Buy Stores Across U.S.

English: Samsung Logo Suomi: Samsungin logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The next time you walk into a Best Buy store, there’s a good chance you’ll see Samsung‘s answer to Apple’s retail stores.

The South Korean electronics giant, which has been closing the gap between itself and Apple, is rolling out hundreds of mini-shops across the U.S. inside Best Buy big-box locations as well as its smaller mobile-specific retail shops.  The stores are formally called Samsung Experience Shops and will showcase Samsung products.

A couple of shops opened in March and more have opened since.  Samsung hopes to have 900 of them up and running by the end of this month with another 500 opening throughout “late spring and early summer.”

One of the primary purposes of the shops is to provide Samsung customers with assistance on their devices.  That’s no surprise considering Samsung credits its social media fans for sparking its decision to build out the shops.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/la-fi-tn-samsung-experience-shops-best-buy-20130507,0,6685597.story

Vignettes Of Black Friday

With promotions, discounts and doorbusters already well under way on Thanksgiving Day itself, many big-box retailers are making Black Friday stretch longer than ever.  The Lede is checking out the mood of American consumers in occasional vignettes Thursday and Friday as the economically critical holiday shopping season kicks off.

Shoppers waiting outside Sam’s Club in Eagan, Minn., for Friday’s 7 a.m. opening clung to free Starbuck’s Holiday Blend coffee as they endured freezing temperatures and biting winds and collected brightly colored vouchers for laptops and big-screen TVs.

The biggest draw: a 96-cent Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone.  Once inside, they also beelined for tickets for the 63 Samsungs in stock, which sold out shortly after the store opened.  Customers could make an appointment for later in the day or another day to purchase the phone, choosing from three carriers, Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint.

“O.K., this is my last blue for Sprint,” an employee called out at 7:08 a.m.

Read more:  http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/coverage-of-black-friday/?hp

Boscov’s Adds Furniture Line, Eliminates Appliances

English: Boscov’s Department Store in the Exton Square Mall. Built c. 1998 as an expansion to the mall, it displaced the Zook House which was on the NRHP in Chester County, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Boscov’s is eliminating its section of appliances and electronics in its more than 40 stores and using the space to grow its furniture selections.

Albert R. Boscov, chairman of Boscov’s Department Stores Inc., said the furniture business is seeing growth, while sales of products such as televisions are not.

With high competition from stores that specialize in electronics, such as Best Buy, Boscov said the company is going to stick to what it does well.

Boscov’s is one of the last department stores that sell appliances, he said, selling those products longer than some of its competitors.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=428507

Best Buy To Close 50 Stores

Logo of Best Buy, US-based retail chain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Best Buy Company posted weaker-than-expected sales for the key holiday quarter and said it would close 50 large U.S. stores, sending shares of the world’s largest consumer electronics chain down 9 percent on Thursday.

Analysts and investors expected more aggressive restructuring efforts from the chain, whose large-format stores have often been termed “white elephants.”

While most industry insiders welcomed Best Buy’s decision to reduce its retail footprint at a time when many shoppers buy their gadgets online, they expected the retailer would have done more.

Read more: http://business-news.thestreet.com/the-mercury/story/best-buy-close-50-stores/1