Strategy

Membership buying club DirectBuy Inc. takes an unusual approach to retailing. It offers paid members the chance to directly purchase goods from manufacturers and wholesalers, without paying retail markup

So perhaps it is to be expected that 50-plus-store DirectBuy, which also offers online and in-home shopping options to its 250,000-plus members, approaches business intelligence (BI) a little differently, as well.

Farmingdale, N.Y. -- Ferrandino & Son, Inc. has been named one of the largest landscape companies in North America by Lawn & Landscape magazine.
 
Ferrandino & Son, Inc. ranked within the top 10 on the 2015 Lawn & Landscape Top 100 list, which was published in May.
 
“Ranking in the top 10% of the largest landscaping companies in North America is a major accomplishment for us,” said Kevin Smith, COO, Ferrandino & Son,
 

Designer clothing and accessories retailer Rent the Runway’s business is dependent on an advanced reverse logistics and transportation network, which is why the company just hired a leading logistic executive from an online competitor.

New York-based Rent the Runway named Chris Halkyard its first ever chief logistics officer to oversee the company’s just-in-time reverse logistics and vertically integrated operating systems.

Garden City, N.Y. -- Jared The Galleria of Jewelry has devoted an entire store to one of its product brands.

The new store, Le Vian by Jared, is located at the Roosevelt Field Mall, Garden City, New York, and features the full Le Vian product line, from jewelry and timepieces to handbags and scarves. The space features curated in-store boutiques devoted to the individual product categories.

Jared is introducing an exciting luxury retail experience that aims to shake up the jewelry shopping category.

The retailer is opening its very first Le Vian by Jared store at the Roosevelt Field Mall in New Jersey. The store will be the only place in the world where shoppers can explore all of upscale brand Le Vian’s offerings: from jewelry and timepieces to handbags and scarves, with carefully curated in-store boutiques devoted to each category, all celebrating the attention to detail and innovative design for which the Le Vian brand is known.

Seattle – Starbucks Corp. is taking the bakery store brand it acquired in 2012 in house. The coffee giant said it plans to close all 23 La Boulange retail (bakery café) locations, as well as the two baking facilities serving the locations, by the end of September. The retailer said it determined that La Boulange stores are “not sustainable for the company’s long-term growth.”

A search is underway for a new CEO to execute a massive transformation at one of the world’s largest retailers. Getting to the interview will require U.S. executives to take a very long flight and the successful applicant will need good listening skills to decipher the accent of co-workers.

Albany, N.Y. - Scott Hoffman has been named chief merchandising officer of Trans World Entertainment Corp., owner of the FYE music/video/video game chain. In his new role, Hoffman will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of merchandising strategy.