Corporate Governance

As retailers industry-wide search for the ideal customer engagement program, Williams-Sonoma is getting back to basics.  

Collaboration is key when it comes to seamlessly creating private-label apparel to sell across branded stores and department store partners.   In effort to streamline information sharing across product development processes, GANT is deploying a product lifecycle management (PLM) solution that promises to improve its product-hit rate, shorten lead times, and enhance margins.  

Based on ongoing discussions with the Federal Trade Commission, Walgreens Boots Alliance gave an update on the amount of stores it will need to divest to win approval for its acquisition of Rite Aid.     Walgreens Boots Alliance said it now expects that the most likely outcome will be that the companies will be required to divest more than 500 stores, but fewer than 1,000 stores. The company previously said that it expected it would have to divest 500 or fewer stores.    

Taking a lesson from B.F. Skinner, Office Depot is taking steps to reward college students for refraining from using their phones at the most critical time of the day — during class.   College students are so obsessed, and thus distracted, by their phones that 33% said they checked their device a minimum of 10 times a day, according to a study conducted by the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln  

Digital payment volume may be growing industry-wide, but there is still plenty of currency filtering through retail stores.  

Top suppliers don’t seem very worried about Macy’s looming store closings. And neither does the CEO of Gap Inc., according to a report by CNBC.com.   Gap chief executive Art Peck told attendees at Goldman Sachs' Annual Global Retailing Conference that he sees the Macy's store closures as an opportunity to grab market share, the report said.  

Chain Store Age is pleased to announce that its sister brand, Retailing Today, has become part of a larger, more robust Chain Store Age, one with greater industry coverage and retail audience reach.   “With the merging of Retailing Today into Chain Store Age, readers and advertisers can expect a comprehensive brand representing the full range of omnichannel retail operations,” said Gary Esposito, group publisher, Chain Store Age.  

Petco will be busy in September.   The retailer announced it will open 13 stores in September, along with one relocation. The expansion reflects Petco’s 2016 growth plan, which includes 34 new Petco stores and one new Unleashed by Petco year-to date.