International Business

That didn’t take very long.   Industry veteran Paula Schneider, former CEO of American Apparel, has been named chief executive of DG Premium Brands, whose brands include 7 For All Mankind, Splendid and Ella Moss.   Schneider took the reins of the embattled American Apparel in December 2014. She steered the chain through bankruptcy and reorganization and launched an ambitious turnaround strategy. Schneider left American Apparel in early October amid rumors that the company was on the block.

Lidl, the German no-frills grocery chain, is shaping up as a potential retail powerhouse even before it opens its first U.S. store.   The company will generate $8.8 billion in sales by 2023, larger than Wegman’s 2016 value of $8.1 billion, according to a just-released forecast by Kantar Retail.  

SPECS, the “Retail Event for Store Innovation,” announced that a highly acclaimed military general who is an expert on security and global affairs will open the second day of the program of its 53rd annual conference, which will be held March 12-14, 2017, at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee (Orlando), Florida.  

It was in 1983 that Steve Lemmon and David Rubenzer brought on Ray Barton as a partner to franchise the cheap haircut concept they started on the University of Minnesota campus. They chose well. Barton’s wife Mary Lou was one of the first franchisees, and Barton himself remains chairman of the board as the company celebrates the opening of its 4,000th franchise in Flat Rock, Michigan.   “The company continues to grow with happy franchisees who open multiple salons,” said Great Clips CEO Rhoda Olsen.  

Thinking about setting up shop between 49th and 60th Streets on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue? Better be prepared to pay big bucks.   The upper part of Fifth Avenue is the most expensive retail street in the world (based on rental value), with rents rising to a whopping $3,500 per square foot in 2015, according to the 27th edition of Cushman & Wakefield’s report, Main Streets Across The World.  

Save-A-Lot may be facing a possible spin-off from parent company Supervalu, but the chain is still bullish about its future.    Supervalu is expected to announce the fate of its discount grocery banner next week, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported, with Toronto private equity firm Onex Corp. the leading bidder if Supervalu does pursue a sale. 

Ikea is expanding its presence in the Sunshine State.   The home furnishings giant is set to begin construction next month on a store in Jacksonville, its fifth location in Florida, with a planned opening in fall 2017, increasing the Swedish retailer’s presence in the Sunshine State.    Ikea has chosen Marcobay Construction, Lakeland, Fla., to serve as construction manager for the Jacksonville site work and store development project.  

Not only is online shopping a way of life for many shoppers, more and more of them are doing it across borders.   Those are among the findings of the third annual Pitney Bowes Global Online Shopping Survey, in which nearly one-third of consumers reported they make domestic online purchases on a daily or weekly basis. While it's no surprise that consumers frequently make domestic online purchases (94%), more than two-thirds (66%) of these consumers have also made an online purchase from another country in the past year.