Marketing

The chief executive of Crate & Barrel is out after less than two years at the top.   Doug Diemoz left the home furnishings retailer last week. Most of his responsibilities will be taken over by Neela Montgomery, board chair of Otto Group, the privately owned German company that owns Crate & Barrel, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.  

Walmart hit the century mark in terms of training academies.   The retailer on Monday celebrated the grand opening of its 100th U.S. training academy, in Frontage, Edmond. The academies were first introduced in 2016 and have expanded to 40 states.  

A new retail experience is giving shoppers — and sports fans — the chance to feel like a professional athlete.   Mizuno, one of the world’s largest specialty sporting goods manufacturers and the official baseball gear partner of the Atlanta Braves, has entered the U.S. retail arena with the opening of The Mizuno Experience Center. It is the first retail store to open at The Battery Atlanta, a 400,000 sq. ft. mixed-use development located just outside the Braves’ new home, Sun Trust Park.   

Time was in New York City that new restaurants sprang up in the ground floors of old brownstones in Midtown or tenement buildings in Greewich Village and were deemed worthy or not by the demanding standards of Manhattanites. Not so in New York’s newest neighborhood.  

Wal-Mart Stores is still considering a possible entry into the food retail market in India.   With new rules  allowing for  100% foreign ownership of food retailers selling goods produced in India, Krish Iyer, the president and CEO of Wal-Mart India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wal-Mart, said the chain is “evaluating” the guidelines, reported The Economic Times. His answer came in response to a question as to whether Walmart was planning on entering the market.  

Nearly 50 years after it opened its first location, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has landed on the West Coast.    The chain, which combines a family-friendly restaurant with an old-fashioned country store, has opened Tualatin, Oregon. The location marks a key expansion of the company’s footprint.  

In “Democracy in America,” political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, “there is hardly a political question in the United States which does not sooner or later turn into a judicial one.” Nearly 200 years later, this statement rings true — maybe now, more than ever.   

Two menswear brands founded online are growing their brick-and-mortar operations.   Made-to-measure men’s clothing maker Indochino, which was founded in 2007, plans to open eight new locations in 2017. Three are slated to open in the brand’s home territory of Canada, and five in the U.S.    “This year, we’re almost doubling our showroom network as we focus on significantly expanding our experiential retail model,” stated Drew Green, CEO, Indochino.  

With its profits taking a hit in 2016, Prada Group is placing a stronger focus on digital.   The luxury goods retailer’s net revenue for the year ended January 31, 2017, while revenue across its retail channel plunged13%.    Based on these results, the company plans to focus on more digital initiatives to better respond to an evolving marketplace, according to Prada’s CEO, Patrizio Bertelli.  

NewMark Merrill’s decade-long quest to open a shopping center outside of San Bernardino became reality with the opening of its Walmart Supercenter anchor.   The 239,552-sq.-ft. Rialto Marketplace is due to be fully operational in June, when the doors will open for tenants including Starbuck’s, Sprint, Chipotle, Les Schwab Tires, Carl’s Jr., and Ono Hawaiian BBQ.