Strategy

Houston-based developer Levcor Inc. has asked a North Carolina town to rezone an 11-acre parcel to accommodate a shopping center of up to 100,000 sq. ft.   The site resides just south of CBL’s Hanes Mall and a power strip consisting of Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco, and Sam’s Club in Winston-Salem. Levcor is asking that the property, assembled from multiple lots, be rezoned from residential, single family use to general business special use.  

In keeping with its fast-paced growth, Petco is starting the new year by celebrating the grand re-opening of 14 remodeled stores in Los Angeles.    Last year, Petco expanded its retail presence nationwide by opening 71 new stores and one new Unleashed by Petco store, remodeling 41 stores and expanding five stores.     Fourteen Petco stores will celebrate grand re-openings on Jan. 13-15.  

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is making a play for a department store and mall operator in China.   The company made a $2.6 billion bid for Intime Retail, with a plan to take it private, reported the New York Times. Alibaba already owns a 28% stake in the company, which operates 29 department stores and 17 shopping malls in China, mainly in first- and second-tier cities.  

Wal-Mart Stores is reportedly planning a major round of job layoffs by the end of this month.   The retailer will eliminate positions at its headquarters and among regional personnel that support stores, the Wall Street Journal reported.  

Nordstrom has added the title of chief innovation officer to its executive team.   The department store retailer named company veteran Geevy Thomas to the new position. Thomas, who most recently served as president of Nordstrom Rack, brings 34 years of experience in all areas of Nordstrom to this role, beginning as a salesperson and then moving into store, regional and buying management roles.   

A go-to brand for shoppers on-the-go, WH Smith Travel is improving the in-store experience.    The chain will add the Aptos Store point-of-sale solution at WH Smith’s Travel locations. The platform, which features modernized, flexible POS technology, is designed to maximize associate productivity and improve the customer experience across the chain’s more than 900 locations in Europe.   

Party City Holdco Inc. continues to acquire its franchised locations.   The company has entered into an agreement to acquire a master franchise group representing 18 franchise stores in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, and with estimated 2016 sales of approximately $34 million. The purchase price is estimated to be $14.5 million to $15.0 million.  

As the retail industry settles into 2017, CIOs industry-wide are dusting off their To-Do lists, and creating a game-plan on how to implement this year’s top priorities.   While these projects will run the gamut, retail is facing an inflection point — one that is influenced by new, “smarter” solutions that will not only change the trajectory of how businesses operate, but how chains will communicate with employees and customers.