[Miriam2940]

Coming from South Florida I have been used to finding cards for the Jewish Holidays everywhere, drug stores, supermarkets. This year Thanksgiving and Hanukkah fall on the same day. I had to pick up something at Walgreens so I went in search of Hanukkah cards. I found plenty of Christmas cards but no Hanukkah cards. When I asked the manager he told me that they had gotten an email that corporate would not be sending Hanukkah cards to "this store". Next I went into Publix, no Hanukkah cards but I was told that the Hallmark lady would be back on Tuesday. CVS- no Hanukkah cards, I did not bother to ask. I found a small selection at Hallmark in Sumter but no gift wrap. I find this very disturbing and, although it is not overt discrimination, I do feel that by omission it smacks of discrimination. Not good

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by Miriam2940

Coming from South Florida I have been used to finding cards for the Jewish Holidays everywhere, drug stores, supermarkets. This year Thanksgiving and Hanukkah fall on the same day. I had to pick up something at Walgreens so I went in search of Hanukkah cards. I found plenty of Christmas cards but no Hanukkah cards. When I asked the manager he told me that they had gotten an email that corporate would not be sending Hanukkah cards to "this store". Next I went into Publix, no Hanukkah cards but I was told that the Hallmark lady would be back on Tuesday. CVS- no Hanukkah cards, I did not bother to ask. I found a small selection at Hallmark in Sumter but no gift wrap. I find this very disturbing and, although it is not overt discrimination, I do feel that by omission it smacks of discrimination. Not good

I see how one could sense that. But I'm thinking it might be a simple matter of the stores/card publishers having too many unsold Jewish holiday cards left at the end of the season (maybe didn't sell enough of them to justify the finite rack space the card companies have, for the quick change they do for the next seasons/occasions). I always notice how fast they whisk away everything from Christmas as an example, to get the Valentines and St. Patricks Day stuff out there right away in the beginning of January.

I would shop for the cards online at Hallmark, American Greetings, etc. and it's probably a lot bigger selection and price range.

[rdhdleo]

Just wondering why people think discrimination instead of thinking that perhaps the stores carried the items in mention in the past and they did not sell well. Stores stock what sells and cannot stock everything everyone wants.

[blueash]

Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore.

[TrudyM]

Blame it on computer distribution. I use to be a retail distributor for Macys and I would look at the sales for previous years and decide which store got how much of what. Now that job no longer exists it is all done by computer. A retail buyer or planner picks the criteria that the computer makes the decision on and it is all automated.
It could be that they are only sending to stores over a certain size. The amount of sales and sell through on what are deemed segmented target demographic items is low so the only go to big stores. IE no college themed mdse in non metro areas. Or the other possibility is they have data on the number of synagogues per thousand in the area and only send to those stores that meet a certain criteria.
Example I had data on Mormon tabernacles and sent twice as many white mens shirts to those stores nearby and half the bikinis. Not discrimination just trying to optimize sales and the cost of shelf space.
The problem is if they don't try the items in the store they will never get the sales data that makes the system put the items there. Now that no people do the deciding less chance of them giving it a try.

[njbchbum]

Originally Posted by rdhdleo

Just wondering why people think discrimination instead of thinking that perhaps the stores carried the items in mention in the past and they did not sell well. Stores stock what sells and cannot stock everything everyone wants.

agreed! if it sells - it will be stocked.

[Mudder]

I usually find Hanukah cards and wrapping paper at the dollar stores. They don't have many, but they have them. Thanks for bringing this up......I'd better go soon and the ones I need. We have quite an ecumenical family.

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by TrudyM

Blame it on computer distribution. I use to be a retail distributor for Macys and I would look at the sales for previous years and decide which store got how much of what. Now that job no longer exists it is all done by computer. A retail buyer or planner picks the criteria that the computer makes the decision on and it is all automated.
It could be that they are only sending to stores over a certain size. The amount of sales and sell through on what are deemed segmented target demographic items is low so the only go to big stores. IE no college themed mdse in non metro areas. Or the other possibility is they have data on the number of synagogues per thousand in the area and only send to those stores that meet a certain criteria.
Example I had data on Mormon tabernacles and sent twice as many white mens shirts to those stores nearby and half the bikinis. Not discrimination just trying to optimize sales and the cost of shelf space.
The problem is if they don't try the items in the store they will never get the sales data that makes the system put the items there. Now that no people do the deciding less chance of them giving it a try.

That is a great illustration!

[ekdk92]

Target in the Villages has Chanukah merchandise

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by TrudyM

Blame it on computer distribution. I use to be a retail distributor for Macys and I would look at the sales for previous years and decide which store got how much of what. Now that job no longer exists it is all done by computer. A retail buyer or planner picks the criteria that the computer makes the decision on and it is all automated.
It could be that they are only sending to stores over a certain size. The amount of sales and sell through on what are deemed segmented target demographic items is low so the only go to big stores. IE no college themed mdse in non metro areas. Or the other possibility is they have data on the number of synagogues per thousand in the area and only send to those stores that meet a certain criteria.
Example I had data on Mormon tabernacles and sent twice as many white mens shirts to those stores nearby and half the bikinis. Not discrimination just trying to optimize sales and the cost of shelf space.
The problem is if they don't try the items in the store they will never get the sales data that makes the system put the items there. Now that no people do the deciding less chance of them giving it a try.

Originally Posted by ilovetv

That is a great illustration!

It's a great illustration of how grammar can get you into trouble! I believe what Trudy meant was white shirts for men, not shirts for white men.

[BarryRX]

I'm Jewish and I think the insinuation that this smacks of discrimination is not only ridiculous, but dangerous because like in the story of "the boy who cried wolf", people may not listen when real discrimination occurs. I'm not sure whether it is discrimination you don't understand or the concept of a free marketplace.

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by CFrance

It's a great illustration of how grammar can get you into trouble! I believe what Trudy meant was white shirts for men, not shirts for white men.

Wow. "Shirts for white men" never occurred to me. To me it was "white shirts" for men. Color of the men never came to mind.

Courteous young men in "white shirts" on bicycles is what came to mind.

And I thought the "good illustration" was of the marketing to the particular demographics of likely shoppers in a given place.

[justjim]

Youth at our church in the past sold Christmas cards to make money for some of their activities. Perhaps the local Synagogues could do something similar. Just a thought.

I don't believe the lack of Hanukah cards at the stores you mention is discrimination but no more or less just stocking their shelves with what has sold in the past years. We are a computer generated society---no doubt about it and as another post mentioned ---because of it certain jobs have been eliminated.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by ilovetv

Wow. "Shirts for white men" never occurred to me. To me it was "white shirts" for men. Color of the men never came to mind.

Courteous young men in "white shirts" on bicycles is what came to mind.

And I thought the "good illustration" was of the marketing to the particular demographics of likely shoppers in a given place.

Sorry! I guess it's one of the challenges of just having the written word in front of you and not the whole person.

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by CFrance

Sorry! I guess it's one of the challenges of just having the written word in front of you and not the whole person.

And probably because of assuming things about people without knowing them.