Strategy

The fast-growing Floor & Decor Holdings announced the closing of its initial public offering.   The company’s shares are now trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FND.” Founded in 2000, Floor & Decor is a multichannel specialty retailer of hard surface flooring and related accessories. It offers a broad in-stock assortment of tile, wood, laminate and natural stone flooring along with decorative and installation accessories.   

Staples Australia and New Zealand is refreshing its pricing strategy.   Staples Australia and New Zealand completes more than 80,000 deliveries daily for consumers and small businesses under 20 employees. However, the chain relied on a legacy-based monitoring tool to establish pricing metrics. To remain competitive in an increasingly omnichannel landscape — especially among business customers — the company was ready to revamp its pricing efforts.   

Mobile ads and solid user growth across its suite of apps contributed to a strong first quarter for Facebook.   For the quarter ended March 31, revenue rose 49% to $8.03 billion, from $5.38 billion in the same period a year earlier. This surpassed analyst predictions of $7.83 billion. Based on this quarter’s earnings, Facebook has exceeded analyst expectations for eight straight quarters.   

It seems the party is over between Macy’s and Tailored Brands’ Men’s Wearhouse.  

Amazon is making new moves to support its expanding business in India.   Specifically, the online giant is adding seven new warehouses — a move that will provide employment to about 4,000 people, according to The Times of India.   Further, the company is planning to have 41 warehouses or fulfillment centers open by the end of June this year, the report said.  

A specialty retailer is taking steps to establish itself as a digitally driven brand.   The Paper Store is extending its partnership with Aptos. The retailer first joined forces with the technology provider when it deployed the Aptos Singular Commerce platform, an end-to-end cloud-based solution, to help support the opening of 50 new stores.    

A pure player specializing in activewear for plus-size women is making the leap to the offline world.   Juno Active will open its first store this spring, at Mall of America, in Bloomington, Minn. The 3,200-sq.-ft. space will offer activewear and swimwear, starting at size 14, along with intimates.     Originally called Junonia, the company was founded in 1995 as a catalog operation. It rebranded itself as Juno Active in 2012, and switched to an exclusive online model.    

Controlling physical assets — and adhering to compliance requirements — can become daunting as chains grow.   To streamline the process, Sephora is adding lease management software from Accurent. Specifically, the software will enable the beauty giant to manage leases for more than 400 locations in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.  

No two stores are exactly alike at Warby Parker. But its new store in Los Angeles — the eyewear brand’s 50th outpost to date — is more unique than all the others.    Located on Melrose Avenue, the new Warby Parker pays homage to Hollywood’s moviemaking history. It even has its own green screen studio where customers can create their own mini-movies.  

Despite retailer efforts to deliver information, store employees still struggle to access the information needed to complete tasks. In fact, 75% of decision makers said their employees frequently ask about procedures that are documented, and 73% indicated that critical information is scattered across many disparate locations.