Strategy

The Running Specialty Group is uniting its various store banners under one of its newest brands: JackRabbit.

A new marketplace has launched with the goal of helping retailers and suppliers keep up with the blistering pace of innovation that is transforming their world.

Between new formats, e-commerce efforts and supply chain initiatives, interesting times are ahead for Bed Bath & Beyond – even if second quarter sales were weak and profits declined.

Smart & Final celebrated the one year anniversary of its public stock offering by telling investors a growth story about differentiation and new store expansion.

Smart & Final, a uniquely positioned operator of 266 warehouse style stores, has plans to open 100 new stores in the Western United States during the next four years. CEO Dave Hirz dropped that bombshell while he and other senior members of the company were at the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell to commemorate the one year anniversary of the company’s listing.

American Dream has added more fire power to its retail lineup.

The Triple Five Group of Companies, the developer of the long-delayed retail and entertainment mega-center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Monday announced the names of 10 new retail tenants who will be setting up shop there. These include: Aritzia, Banana Republic, Gap, Lululemon, Mac, Microsoft, Pink, Uniqlo, Victoria's Secret and Zara.

E-commerce sales surged at Pier 1 Imports during the second quarter, but the retailers overall sales grew less than expected and the company lowered its full year outlook.

Total sales increased 2.7% to $430 million and same-store sales increased 2.5%. Excluding the effects of the stronger U.S. dollar, total sales increased 4% and same-store sales increased 3.8%.

Delivery.com may be coming to an office near you. The online delivery and ordering service has unveiled a partnership with WeWork, a provider of workspace, community, and services in 16 global cities.

The integration, based on Delivery.com's open API technology, allows WeWork's 30,000-plus members to order food on demand through the same portal they use for business functions like booking conference rooms.

All manner of store operational processes will soon be under review at Target following the appointment of a new executive whose role is to simplify, optimize and make the retailer more agile.

IBM aims to increase the solutions and services it offers the retail industry with two new centers. On Sept. 24, IBM opened a new global headquarters for IBM Commerce and new hub for its Watson artificial intelligence platform in San Francisco.

In addition, IBM is partnering with The Fung Group on a new large-scale laboratory for rapid experimentation with omnichannel retail technologies, which opened in Shanghai, China on Sept. 24.

Nine large U.S. companies on Wednesday committed themselves to achieving a major sustainability goal — and three of them are retailers.

Walmart, Starbucks and Nike are among the firms joining RE100, a global initiative led by The Climate Group to engage, support and showcase influential businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. Other firms joining the campaign include Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Salesforce, Steelcase, Voya Financial.