Corporate Governance

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.

Senior management of Walmart Stores Inc. should be happy with the results of its 46th annual shareholders meeting held June 3.
 

Hubert Joly, CEO of Best Buy Inc., is doing a little diversification of his personal stock portfolio.

Bloomberg reports that as of June 2, Joly has sold 398,000 shares of Best Buy stock, or 44% of his roughly 910,000 company shares, for $12.8 million.

The retailer said Joly is not exploring other opportunities and has no plans to leave his current position.

Amazon.com is now offering one-hour deliveries of grocery items to Prime Now members in the Dallas area, via an expanded partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market.

The e-tailer will allow Dallas Prime Now members to shop for Sprouts items via their accounts. Orders will then be picked from a local Sprouts store by Amazon and Sprouts employees and given to a driver for delivery.

The term “post-department store era” was once considered so controversial that many in the retail world avoided using it, fearing backlash from powerful industry giants like Macy’s and Sears. Some saw the very idea of department store obsolescence as pure folly while others saw it only as a vague possibility too far in the future to consider.
 

The Marketplace Mall located in the Henrietta area of Rochester, New York, will convert to an outlet center.     The mall will undergo capital improvements, remerchandising of the retail mix, and will be rebranded as Marketplace Outlets. This is a first-of-its-kind full conversion of an enclosed regional mall to an outlet center.   

Meijer has expanded its store footprint in Michigan, opening a new 192,000-sq.-ft. supercenter in Sturgis.
 
The new store is the latest of nine new Meijer supercenters to open – and part of an investment of more than $400 million in new and remodeled stores – this year, which will create 3,000 new jobs across the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based retailer's six-state footprint.

Image credit: Ted Eytan, CC by 2.0   While many retailers are focused on making stores a destination to experience, some aim for an even higher level of customer engagement by casting themselves in the role of community center.     Others have even become a global destination for enthusiasts. These retailers understand that one way to energize a fervent fan base is to offer a singular fan base. Here are a few examples: