Corporate Governance

Westlake Village, Calif. – Guitar Center is opening a Serato-branded digital music area in its Brooklyn, N.Y., store on Oct. 24. The 2,500-sq.-ft. area provides a space for DJs and producers to demo and buy Serato products.

Englewood, Col. -- Sports Authority has debuted a new format at its first-ever store in Puerto Rico. The store, in Ponce, opened on Oct.19.

The 35,000-sq.-ft. location features an “intuitive” that makes it easier than ever for customers to find exactly what they need, the retailer said. With specialty sport shops and a spacious new layout, the store was designed specifically to enhance the shopping experience.

Amazon.com has announced that this holiday season, thousands of third-party sellers will have the opportunity to participate in its holiday deals promotion program.

Third-party sellers on Amazon will be allowed to offer holiday deals that will be featured on the Amazon holiday deal pages, including its Today’s Deals page. Holiday deals from sellers will appear on high customer traffic merchandising pages which highlight limited-time discounts on holiday items exclusively from sellers.

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods is opening a new store in Osage Beach, Mo., on Nov. 1. The Osage beach location will be the retailer's 12th store in the state of Missouri and its 551st nationwide.

“We look forward to opening our new Dick's Sporting Goods in Osage Beach, becoming part of the community and serving athletes of all ages by providing them the equipment they need to excel," said Lauren Hobart, senior VP & chief marketing officer, Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Big Lots has appointed former Kmart executive Andrew Stein as the company's SVP and chief customer officer, as the company focuses more intensely on bolstering its digital footprint.

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Owners of garment factories in Bangladesh are reportedly prepared to raise the minimum wage they pay workers from 50%-80% and ask retailers to pay at least some of the extra cost.

According to Reuters, factory owners have offered a minimum wage of about $46 per month. Workers have requested a minimum wage of about $102 per month, and the government is expected to order an increase in a middle range of $54-$66 per month. Current minimum wage is about $39 a month.

Los Angeles – Almost seven-in-10 (66%) shoppers feel retailers will offer better prices and discounts this year due to the current state of the economy. The new Winter Holiday Shopping Survey from PriceGrabber also shows that 21% of holiday shoppers said they started saving money before June, while the majority of survey respondents plan to start shopping for the holidays in October and November.

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods opens a new store in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Nov. 1. The Corpus Christi location will be the retailer's 21st store in the state of Texas and its 549th nationwide.

"We look forward to opening our new Dick’s Sporting Goods in Corpus Christi, becoming part of the community and serving athletes of all ages by providing them the equipment they need to excel." said Lauren Hobart, senior VP and chief marketing officer, Dick’s Sporting Goods.