Cross-Merchandising

The giant of online retailing apparently is developing a taste for brick-and-mortar.

In news that is likely to set off a wave of speculation, Amazon confirmed it will open its second physical bookstore, this time at Westfield UTC mall in San Diego, California. Amazon Books is expected to open at the open-air shopping center sometime this summer.

Less than a month after Hudson’s Bay Company brought Saks Fifth Avenue to Canadian shoppers, the company this month is opening the first of 25 planned Saks Off 5th stores.

Three new Saks Off 5th stores are scheduled to open on March 17 in Vaughan Mills, Halton Hills and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The openings will allow Canadians to experience the ultimate "thrill of the hunt" shopping that Saks Off 5th is renowned for, with access to the some of the best brands and fantastic finds, in a fun to shop store format,” according to the company.

ModCloth is going on tour this summer.

The online apparel retailer known for its indie and vintage-inspired styles is launching the “ModCloth IRL (in real life) Tour,” a series of five pop-up shops.

The IRL shops are modeled after ModCloth’s first-ever physical outpost, a pop-up in San Francisco. The store opened last July and is due to close March 26.

Macy’s is ushering in the spring promotional season by celebrating America'as vast and varied landscapes at the 2016 Macy’s Flower Show.

The show will sprout to life at five Macy’s downtown store locations nationwide, including Herald Square in New York City, Center City in Philadelphia, State Street in Chicago, Downtown Minneapolis and Union Square in San Francisco.

Kroger puts produce front and center at its new grocery store concept, Main & Vine, which also boasts a large bulk-bin area and an event center where cooking demonstrations take place. The store, in Gig Harbor, Washington, capitalizes on Kroger’s centralized buying and distribution power to keep prices affordable on produce and staples, according to the Columbus Dispatch. [Columbus Dispatch]

Phoenix-based PetSmart and the Arizona Diamondbacks are teaming up to create the first-ever season-long dog-friendly ballpark in America.

The retailer worked with the team on new PetSmart Patio, PetSmart Park and the Dog Days of Summer program, where dog-loving fans can bring their dogs to all 13 Sunday Diamondbacks home games in the 2016 season (the first game will be on April 10 vs. the Chicago Cubs).

Market Track compared retail circular advertising in February 2016 vs. February 2015 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains.

Kohl’s added four comparable circulars in February 2016, promoting mainly short duration sales like “50% Two-Day Sale,” “Doorbusters,” and “Make a Point to Shop.” They attempted to leverage their rewards program with 3X the points during the “Make a Point to Shop” sales.

New York -- The Howard Hughes Corp. announced that Andrew Schwartz has been hired to lead the newly created Global Strategic Partnerships Group as senior VP. He will be responsible for identifying and securing new corporate partnerships across the company’s sought after portfolio that spans from New York to Honolulu, the new division will play an important long term role for the growing company.