Events

Walmart Executive Vice President of Global Customer Insights and Analytics Cindy Davis has been confirmed as a featured speaker for IRI’s upcoming Summit.

Chain Store’s Age’s 51st annual SPECS Conference starts on March 15, at the Sands Expo at the Venetian/Palazzo Hotel, Las Vegas. The conference is focused on store planning/design, equipment, construction and facility services — all areas where technology is beginning to play an increasingly important role. Here are three SPECS sessions where the role of technology will be highlighted:

Nadia Shourabora

Sprouts Farmers Market is hoping Nascar fans will be racing to its stores after the Phoenix-based retailer signed on for a major sponsorship.

The 200-unit retailer of fresh, natural and organic foods will be the primary sponsor of Cole Whitt’s number 35 Ford Fusion when the green flag drops at this weekend’s CampingWorld.com 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway. According to Sprouts, the 23-year-old Whitt is an Arizona native committed to living a healthy lifestyle. Sprouts also operates more than 20 stores in and around Phoenix.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Dollar General Corp. is not sitting back while rivals Family Dollar and Dollar Tree prepare to merge. Following its failed bid to acquire Family Dollar, Dollar General has accelerated its expansion plans for 2015. The discounter, which already has the retail industry’s most aggressive new store strategy said it will open 730 new stores and remodel 875 existing locations in 2015, translating into a 6% increase in total square footage. And looking ahead, Dollar General plans to grow its square footage by 7% in 2016.

New York – Retail real estate firm Simon, in partnership with fashion and retail event company Decoded Fashion, has announced the 10 finalists in its "Future of Retail: Meet the Disruptors" competition. The competition's mission is to discover startups in retail or retail-related technologies whose innovations will enhance the shopping experience for future generations.

The finalists, all innovative startups in retail or retail-related technologies, are:

Houston – Salata, a custom salad and salad wrap restaurant eatery, will open a 26,000-sq.-ft corporate complex in West Houston. Construction on the facility began in January and completion is estimated for summer 2015.

The headquarters will house offices for the chain's corporate employees, a training restaurant for franchisees and managers and a production facility. It will also feature a 2,500-sq.-ft. restaurant open to the public during regular lunch hours, which will also serve as a test kitchen and training restaurant.

Saks and nine top fashion footwear designers offered their stunning interpretations of Cinderella’s slipper to generate in-store excitement at Saks’ flagship store.