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Retail Top 100 2012, No. 74: Ethnic retail

June 7, 2012

The café inside Walmart's Hispanic-themed Más Club in Houston offers fresh-made tortillas. Macy's Salt Lake City store carries larger-size cookware to accommodate the area's Mormon families, which tend to be bigger. Whole Foods' special halal promotion during Ramadan boosted sales by 300 percent. The iPhone World Cup app published by Hispanic network Univision was 2010's 13th most popular free application in the U.S. A survey published in Ad Age found that 42 percent of Hispanics said they are more loyal towards companies that show appreciation for their culture by advertising in Spanish. But before they change their logos to red and green, marketers and retailers are cautioned to consider that those who identify themselves as Hispanic hail from as many as 20 different cultures. A campaign targeting the U.S. Mexican population would fall flat (or worse) if aimed at South Americans or Spaniards. Cultural sensitivity and a working knowledge of cultural taboos are crucial.

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