Corporate Governance

The upcoming Oct. 1, 2015, mandate for U.S. retailers to adopt POS systems that can securely accept and process transactions using EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa)-compliant, chip-based payment cards is fast approaching. Retailers that are not in compliance with the mandate after that date will be held liable for any fraudulent transaction committed with a chip-based card.

Walmart is schooling students in Virginia on savings with the latest iteration of its on campus concept store first introduced in 2011.

The new 4,100-sq.-ft. Walmart on Campus is located at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. The store opened April 29 and is part of an ongoing pilot program at Walmart to designed to provide VCU students and faculty, as well as the surrounding neighborhood, more convenient access to affordable products.

Restaurants and retail have fertile expansion ground in certain markets

While it’s true that technology, brick-and-mortar changes, and evolving consumer behavior are causing foundational shifts in the retail industry, a closer look at different U.S.

Our cover story this month is about one of my favorite topics: hot retail concepts. It’s a subject that, to my mind, never goes out of style because it speaks as much to the essence of retail in today’s omnichannel age as it did in the purely physical one.

New concepts remain the lifeblood of retailing, and it’s always exciting to recognize and call attention to them. And I’m happy to report that the industry seems to be particularly rich in new formats these days.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. announced the two remaining stores involved in its deal with European fashion retailer Primark. (In late 2014, Sears entered into lease agreements with Primark for seven standalone stores in the Northeastern United States.)

The two remaining stores will be located at Burlington Mall in Burlington, Massachusetts; and South Shore Plaza in Braintree, Massachusetts. Sears will continue to have a significant retail presence in both of these malls, which are owned and operated by Simon Property Group, Inc.

The participating companies provide industry-leading solutions and services that aid retailers with the challenging task of navigating real estate. Specific areas where and these providers offer help include lease management, store growth and consolidation, portfolio management, strategic analytics.

A&G Realty Partners LLC    

Melville, N.Y.    

Seattle – Stockbrokers in need of a quick caffeine fix between bouts of buying and selling have a new resource. Starbucks Corp. is debuting its new express store format on Wall Street in New York, across from the New York Stock Exchange.

The compact 538-sq.-ft. store space is designed to provide a streamlined customer experience and provide what Starbucks calls an “espresso shot” version of visiting its stores. Starbucks is relying upon store design, customer service and technology to provide the convenience it promises.

Los Angeles - True Religion has expanded its partnership with Epicor to support omnichannel and digital innovation initiatives. The specialty apparel retailer has selected modules including the Epicor QuantiSense Retail Business Intelligence solution, and the Epicor ShopVisible cloud retail order management solution.