Strategy

Specialty home furnishings Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. is expanding its omnichannel credit and CRM offerings with help from marketing and loyalty solutions provider Alliance Data Systems Corp.

Bed Bath & Beyond has signed a new long-term agreement to create a co-brand credit card program. Alliance Data will develop a tailored marketing strategy for the retailer and each of its concepts, utilizing its data-driven lifecycle marketing approach.

Today’s retailers face significant challenges as online increases its share of wallet, mall-based stores stumble, technology requirements mount, and customer engagement remains elusive for many. The business environment is clearly marked by the need to rationalize store counts, headcount, and product count.
 
As management faces up to these challenges, they seek purposeful justification of expenditures, higher shareholder returns, and greater customer engagement.
 

The expansion of online fulfillment availability is giving retailers new avenues for selling goods via the Internet.

The latest example of how non-traditional e-commerce opportunities are popping up is a just-launched partnership between Food Network and Instacart. The lifestyle network/website does directly sell a variety of cooking-related products and utensils online, but until now has not been involved in the sale of food items.

Mary Meixelsperger, senior VP and CFO DSW Inc., is shifting professional gears

Meixelsperger has resigned from the company effective June 10, to pursue another unspecified opportunity. Coincidentally or otherwise, DSW recently missed expectations for both profits and sales in a difficult first quarter of fiscal 2016. Net income fell 37% and same-store sales also declined, although revenues grew below Wall Street forecasts.

Photo: Dollar General executives and local leaders cut the ribbon to celebrate the grand opening celebration of the company's new San Antonio Distribution Center. (L to R, Steve Sunderland; Wayne Peacock, Chairman, San Antonio Economic Development Foundation; Bexar County Judge, Nelson Wolff; Mike Kindy; Mario Tort; Todd Vasos, Dollar General CEO; Jeff Owen; Alan Warrick, San Antonio City Council; Jeff Owen; Bob Ravener; Jim Thorpe)

Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT I Inc. is acquiring a grocery-anchored shopping center, expanding the company’s holdings in Massachusetts.

Northwoods Crossing is a 159,562-sq.-ft. grocery store-anchored shopping center in Taunton, Massachusetts, a suburb 40 miles south of Boston. The center is anchored by BJ’s Wholesale Club. It also features national and regional tenants such as Tractor Supply Company, Dollar Tree, Subway, Ruby Tuesday and Wendy’s.

Canadian retail conglomerate The Loblaw Cos. Inc. is pulling up stakes on store-based operations of its Joe Fresh banner in the U.S.

According to the Financial Post, Loblaw has closed the final remaining U.S. Joe Fresh store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York, and also no longer distributes the apparel brand through J.C. Penney stores in the States.

Retailers looking for global opportunities in emerging markets should head to Asia, particularly China, according to a just-released survey.   

China ranks as the top country in A.T. Kearney’s 2016 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), followed by India, whose high market potential, fast growth, improved regulatory environment, and ease of doing business pulled it up to second in the rankings. (See end of article for top 30 rankings.)