Events

An estimated 3,000 suppliers and Walmart’s top executives are scheduled to participate in the retailers Product Sustainability Expo to be held from April 29 through May 1.

Promotional materials for the event, to be held at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers, Ark., describe it as an opportunity to recognize and celebrate amazing advances in sustainability and to discover emerging opportunities and innovations that represent a new standard in retail.

Uniqlo has enlisted musician and music producer Pharrell Williams as a collaborator and spokesperson for the UT 2014 spring-summer collection. Launched in 2003, Uniqlo’s UT T-shirt brand is getting a fresh start this year, as “The New Model T,” a collection produced by its creative director and street fashion icon Nigo.

Deerfield Park, Ill. - Walgreens and Roush Fenway Racing have launched a partnership to stage "The Race Around America" interactive promotion, presented by Balance Financial Prepaid MasterCard from Walgreens. By registering their cards for the promotion, Balance financial card cardholders will be entered in the sweepstakes portion of the omni-channel promotion.  

New York -- As technology transforms multichannel retail into hyper-channel, “always-on” retailing, chains must emotionally connect with consumers as never before, according to Joseph Bona. Bona, president of branded environments for New York City-based brand agency/retail design firm CBX, is one of the featured speakers at Chain Store Age’s upcoming 50th annual SPECS conference,  March 9 -12, Grapevine, Texas.

Waban, Mass. -- H.E.B. Grocery, Trader Joe's, Chick-fil-A, and Publix earned the highest scores in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, which ranked 268 companies across 19 industries. Joining those firms in the top 14 spots are Aldi, Food Lion, Sonic Drive-In, credit unions, Dairy Queen, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, Regions, Sam's Club, and Starbucks.

As a category of shopping center, open-air centers have been evolving ever since the days they were called lifestyle centers. New categories of tenants have evolved, along with new ways of creating compelling tenant mixes and environments. We asked three open-air owners to tell us about current and possible future directions that evolution may take.

The companies are San Diego-based American Assets Trust; Irvine Co. Retail Properties in Irvine, Calif.; and Columbus, Ohio-based Glimcher Realty Trust. Here’s what they had to say.

The South by Southwest interactive/music/lifestyle event held each year in Austin, Texas, will see leading workwear brand Dickies team up with Amazon to host a lineup of leading musical acts.

The companies have created The Dickie’s Roadhouse presented by Amazon at the iconic Austin establishment known as Banger’s on Rainey Street near the convention center. Headliners at the event include Ludacris and Until the Ribbon Breaks.

Glendale, Calif. — Throughout the spring and summer, Glendale Galleria will open nine new stores and eateries including Armani Jeans, Blaze Pizza, Brighton Collectibles, Chipotle, Coach, Earthbar, Lolli & Pops and Zumiez.

They will join La Baugette, another newcomer, which opened its Glendale Galleria location back in February.