Strategy

Momentum to continue through 2014

By most accounts, 2013 was a banner year for IPOs. According to Renaissance Capital, a total of 222 companies went public in 2013, marking the best year for the IPO market since 2000. As we predicted in a previous article in Chain Store Age, the retail and consumer products industry played a key role in this IPO activity, accounting for 19 offerings and $8.3 billion in proceeds. This marked a notable increase from the number of offerings seen in 2012 (15) and 2011 (12), according to Renaissance Capital.

As recent events demonstrate, the magnetic stripe-based payment cards used by the vast majority of U.S. retailers, banks, payment processors and card issuers are vulnerable to fraud. The Europay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) standard used by the rest of the developed world stores sensitive customer data on an encrypted chip, rather than on a magnetic stripe, making payment card fraud much more difficult. Erik Vlugt, VP product marketing for electronic payment solutions vendor VeriFone Inc., recently shared insight on the advantages EMV can offer U.S.

New York -- As technology transforms multichannel retail into hyper-channel, “always-on” retailing, chains must emotionally connect with consumers as never before, according to Joseph Bona. Bona, president of branded environments for New York City-based brand agency/retail design firm CBX, is one of the featured speakers at Chain Store Age’s upcoming 50th annual SPECS conference,  March 9 -12, Grapevine, Texas.

There is no place in today’s hyper-competitive retail marketplace for a poorly maintained store — providing a clean, comfortable and safe shopping environment is a priority for chains across the board. As retailers increasingly focus on their core competencies, they are letting experts take care of functions and services that fall outside those areas, including facilities maintenance.

Atlanta – Accellos is releasing AccellosOne Warehouse Management System (WMS) version 6.5, which is built on Accellos’ unifying technology platform, the AccellosOne Platform version 3.0. This cloud-ready WMS features an all-new configuration mechanism that leverages Microsoft’s Workflow Foundation, enabling partners and customers to analyze and modify business processes without writing code or using proprietary scripting languages.

Speaking with Ron Goldstone, senior VP at Southfield, Mich.-based Farbman Group really got my juices flowing about the Midwest retail real estate marketplace — Michigan in particular. The state’s retail real estate market is an interesting candidate for closer study, simply because the Detroit dynamic, even in its extremes, gives us a valuable perspective on the national landscape:

Springfield, N.J. – Village Super Market Inc. reported a 69% decrease in net income during the second quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to the same period in the prior year. Net income fell to $2.8 million from $9.1 million.

Home appliance and consumer electronics manufacturer Haier America has chosen the northern New Jersey town of Wayne as the location of its new 56,000-sq.-ft. U.S. headquarters.

The new facility will be home to 200 employees, training centers, customer service operations and a product showroom where retailers can see new products and concepts. Renovations are currently underway on a building at 1800 Valley Road in Wayne, N.J., that will replace the company’s current office at 1356 Broadway in Manhattan this fall.