Events

Most people do not get a paid holiday for “Leap Day,” Feb. 29.

Then again, most people do not work for online footwear and apparel retailer Zappos. Known for doing things a little differently, such as replacing the traditional bureaucratic management structure with decentralized “holacracy,” Zappos is taking a novel approach to Leap Day.

A lot of retailers reach the stage of installing traffic counters in their stores, but it’s at this point that problems can start. The traffic data can become unreliable or the store operations team may not know what to do with the data or how to apply it, which leaves retailers looking for the expected insights and additional sales.
The fact is, they’re there — retailers just need to know how to find them.

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- CBL & Associates Properties announced it will be partnership with Girls World Expo. Girls World Expo is an organization that produces one-day events that bring young women together with positive female role models and programming meant to empower girls and help them realize their potential. In 2016, the expo will make stops at 10 CBL centers across the country.

So much for the argument that the U.S. market is saturated with retail stores and e-commerce is hurting mall traffic. Tanger Factory Outlet Centers brought four new properties online in 2015 and still managed to achieve a portfolio occupancy rate in excess of 95% for the 35th consecutive year.

The Retail Design Institute has revealed the finalists for its 45th Annual International Store Design Awards Program.

All the awards, including the highly anticipated Store of the Year Award, will be revealed, and bestowed on the honorees, at the Institute’s annual Awards Gala on March 12, 2016, at the Hilton Anatole, Dallas. For more information and to buy tickets, click here.

Here are the finalists (in alphabetical order):

South Korean electronics giant Samsung on Monday opened what it calls a “consumer technology playground” in the trendy Meatpacking District of Manhattan.

Named for its address, 837 Washington Street, the 55,000-sq.-ft. Samsung 837 is packed with eye-popping features, from a three-story array of televisions made up of 96 Samsung 55-inch TVs to a truly futuristic, fully-immersive virtual reality experience. There is also a café, art gallery and theater.

January is a tech bonanza for retail, with interesting, innovative and sometimes downright out-there new technologies and brands on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York City. It’s nearly impossible to keep track of every startup out there, but here’s a selection of the most promising ventures that should be on your radar.

Reemo

Demand for shares of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is such that the retailer has increased the size of a secondary offering.

Members of Target Corp.’s senior leadership team including CEO Brian J. Cornell, chief marketing officer Jeff Jones, and chief creative officer Todd Waterbury attended the recent TED Conference in Vancouver. In a post on the Target Bullseye Blog, the executives describe learnings such as the importance of empowering dreamers, the power of trust and reputation in social business, and why originals choose different Web browsers than everybody else.

Demand for shares of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is such that the retailer has increased the size of a secondary offering.