Here are some more information for Upgrade Retail:

Retailers See Home Life as an Opportunity

Faith Popcorn exploited the concept of "Cocooning" in her early 90's book of the same name. High gas prices at the time as well as the spike in housing motivated people to save money by staying home and indulging in activities that capitalized on their investment and avoided expenses outside of the home.
The internet was in its infancy so new computers were making their way into most households as well as large screen televisions, gas barbecues and even in ground swimming pools. Families spent money on renovations and other upgrades to their homes that could be enjoyed every day and would only increase the value of their dwellings.
Today, in our new economy, families are once again revisiting the cocooning phenomenon, albeit for different reasons. It just makes sense to have fun with the family in the safety of your own home while saving money in these challenging times. These days, going to the movies or dining out is becoming prohibitively expensive and a meal for two out on the town can feed a family of six quite nicely at home. A few fun filled at home barbecues will pay for that new grill in just a couple of months! Similarly, that seemingly expensive big screen television will pay for itself in less than a summer of movie excursions. The family's broadband internet connection offers a wealth of information and entertainment as well. Computers, laptops and all the peripheral equipment will get well used and add more options to the family that stays at home and plays at home.

Today, many families feel justified in spending their hard earned money on home entertainment enhancements that will save them money in the mid term and enable them to enjoy their homes even more, as they curtail travel, long distant vacations and nights on the town. Not surprisingly, restaurant and movie attendance is way down, as well as air travel. At the top of the list is the demise of Recreational Vehicle sales as dealer after dealer closes their doors.

If this is the current mentality of the consumer, where does YOUR STORE stand when it comes to catering to the Cocooning phenomenon? Do you offer merchandise that enables your customer to make a mental connection with Cocooning? Here are some examples of merchandise lines that work well:

-Hardware and building stores can promote beginner's woodworking tools as consumers work at home improvements

-Grocery stores can open seasonal garden centers or sections as families focus on yard enhancements at low cost

-Clothing stores can focus on apparel appropriate for gardening, deck entertainment or outdoor work

-Electronic stores can expand their line of home entertainment, computing and gaming merchandise

-Specialty food stores can offer pre-made foods that can be put straight in the oven or grilled. This is a great labor saving idea for families who still like convenience at home but have reduced dining out

-Home decor stores can expand into entertainment centers, home offices, computer hutches and other products that enhance the home

Virtually every retailer can step back and examine their product line and expand into merchandise that enhances Cocooning. Swine flu (at the time of writing), travel risks, high outside expenses and tight budgets makes staying at home and making the most of it a logical strategy that will likely be popular for a few years to come.

What products can YOU introduce, expand and promote in your store to answer the Cocooning needs of your customers?

I

Take Action Today:

1) Review this critical concept and trend with your sales teams.

2) Add and promote merchandise that supports at home lifestyles.

About the Author

Ron Pawlowski is a Managing
Partner at The Retail Institute.
He has a Bachelor's Degree is Science as well as an MBA.

The Retail Institute is dedicated to the support of the small to medium retailer through timely informative articles as well as affordable retail seminars, manuals and systems.

http:// www.retailinstitute.ca

Win7 Rc to retail upgrade/install?

I've been running the windows 7 RC on my desktop for quite some time ( 4-6 months now ) previously my system was running vista home-premium.
My question is how can I update/upgrade/install to a retail version of win7 , do I have to revert and format back to my vista home-premium and get a full win7 and do a fresh install and back up my files and all that jazz or can I get an upgrade version and update from win7 rc to win 7 home-premium ?

Yes - you can do the upgrade to the full version. there is a catch though. You need to modify one file on the upgrade disk. There is a guide here on how to do it: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/3075/how-to-upgrade-the-windows-7-rc-to-rtm/

The key points are this: Win 7 RC is the Ultimate version. Unless you are upgrading to a final Ultimate version you need to change your registry entry to report that the RC is running HOMEPREMIUM.

Then you need to change the cversion.ini file on the retail disc that you have to allow it to upgrade your current build. Unless you have the paid version of UltraISO or PowerISO, then don't bother trying to modify the ISO image (both have a 300mb limit). Just copy all the files to a directory, modify the file in question, and then burn it as UDF.

Retail Stocks Fall; Warnaco, Buckle Upgraded
NEW YORK -- Retail stocks opened slightly lower on Tuesday, tracking the broader markets, while apparel companies Warnaco Group Inc. and Buckle Inc. both jumped after each of their stocks was upgrade...

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