Strategy

The retail giant just made another move in its battle against online rival, Amazon.   Walmart is testing a touch-screen monitor in its toy aisle at dedicated stores in Texas. The solution connects shoppers to available inventory at store-level, and if it’s not on-hand, the device enables them to order it online, according to The Street.   

Ulta Beauty on Thursday reported a stellar fourth quarter that shows why many consider it one of the hottest retailers in the United States.      The beauty products retailer also said it would open approximately 100 net new stores in 2017, and remodel 13 locations.           Ulta Beauty’s net income for the quarter, ended Jan. 30, surged 30% to a better-than-expected $140.2 million, from $107.8 million in the year-ago period.  

Less than a month after closing its New York City pop-up store, Snap is back in the brick-and-mortar game.   Snap, the social media company formerly known as Snapchat, opened a temporary store on the boardwalk in Venice, California, near its Los Angeles headquarters, according to TechCrunch.   

Target Open House in San Francisco has opened its doors after a seven-week renovation inspired by feedback from visitors and entrepreneurs.    

Starting soon, select J.C. Penney will be offering bathroom remodeling services.  

Nordstrom Rack will open a store at Cascade Station in Portland, Oregon.    The approximately 28,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2017.   This will be the fifth Nordstrom Rack store in the Portland area. Portland is also home to the first stand-alone Nordstrom Rack store, which opened in 1983. The company also operates a full line stores at downtown Portland and Clackamas Town Center.  

Shoptalk, the next-gen retail and e-commerce event, will kick off its 2017 event with 50 speakers on Sunday, March 19, including the VP of Amazon Prime Now, Stephenie Landry.   Sunday’s content will also include a startup pitch contest with significant cash prizes.   Shoptalk take place at the Aria, Las Vegas, March 19-22.   

Six months after launching home delivery, Meijer is expanding its breadth.   The grocery and general merchandise retailer is getting ready to offer home delivery across its six-state footprint, starting with Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 29, and Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, Indiana in April. Meijer also plans to continue rolling out the service to major markets in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Wisconsin, the grocer said.   

It’s hard to drive camaraderie among a highly dispersed workforce — but HSN has found a way.   The entertainment and lifestyle retailer reaches 94 million households through 1,700 sales and service agents —most of which remotely work from home. Such a widely dispersed workforce makes it difficult to use conventional tactics to build healthy competitive spirit and camaraderie in group settings. This challenge forced the company to step up its employee engagement game.  

RadioShack Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, its second filing in just over two years.   The electronics retailer said it would close approximately 200 stores, and evaluate options on the remaining 1,300 locations.      General Wireless Operations Inc. acquired the then-bankrupt RadioShack in April 2015, with a plan to turnaround the struggling company by co-branding the bulk of the stores with wireless carrier Sprint.