ANSOM

The man we knew as Bob Shelton, owner of Joy Enterprises in West Palm Beach, Florida passed away last week. He built his company into one of the preeminent cutlery products distributors and manufacturers in our industry. Bob was also a long-time, familiar face at the ASD/AMD trade shows. Many of his employees considered him a father figure and he will be greatly missed.

Official obituary notice -
SHELTON, Steven B., otherwise known as “Bubi”, 79, of West Palm Beach, FL and formerly of Northern New Jersey, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 9, 2008 at his home. Mr. Shelton was the beloved husband of Alex for 26 of the best years of their lives; loyal and loving father of Deborah Mia Shelton and his predeceased son David Samuel Shelton; dear brother of Ruth Goldstein; adored by all who knew him. As a Holocaust survivor, Mr. Shelton nevertheless believed in the goodness and equality of all people and lived his life with a joyous and open heart. He embodied the essence of his Hebrew name “Simcha”; indeed he brought joy to all who knew him. In loving memory, contributions may be made either to Hospice of Palm Beach County – 5300 East Avenue., W.P.B., FL 33407 or World ORT Representative Office - 2152 Ralph Avenue. Box #146, Brooklyn, New York, NY 1123

Chapel Services were held on Friday, June 13, 2008 at I.J. Morris Funeral Directors – 5411 Okeechobee Blvd., W.P.B., FL 33417.

From the National Retail Federation today -

Wal-Mart becoming grocer of choice for a larger segment of Americans. Nationwide, an average of 16% noted that they do the bulk of their food shopping at Wal-mart. In the south, it’s 25%. The study also indicated that the growth rate of most regional grocery chains remains flat. More here.

FedEx will rename Kinko’s - From FedEx Kinko’s to FedEx Office. More here. (At last, our long national nightmare is over. Especially since Kinko’s original name was Pervo’s.)

PetSmart’s pricing strategy of 10% higher than discount stores but 10%-15% lower than grocery stores has been a winning mix when combined with their commitment to greater product selection and competent customer service. More here. Of course, since they’re a specialty retailer, offering a greater product selection would seem to be mandatory.