Winter Holidays

FedEx will have new shipping rates starting January 1, 2018.   All subsidiaries, FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight, will increase their shipping fees by an average of 4.9%. The company is also imparting additional surcharges across other services.   For example, FedEx Express shipping rates will spike by an average of 4.9% for U.S. domestic, U.S. export and U.S. import services. FedEx One Rate pricing will increase by an average of 3.5%.  

Toys "R" Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Monday night in federal court in Richmond, Va., with an eye to revamping its long-term -- and massive -- debt totaling more than $5 billion.  

As it expands online and opens stores offline, Untuckit is looking forward to its biggest holiday shopping season to date.   

It's looking increasingly likely that Toys "R" Us may turn to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a way to deal with its massive debt load.    With about $400 million of its $5 billion debt coming due in 2018, the struggling toy retailer could file for bankruptcy as soon as this week, CNBC reported. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/18/toys-r-us-could-file-for-bankruptcy-as-soon-as-this-week-sources-say.html  

Fewer stores translates into reduced holiday hiring for Macy's this year.   Macy's plans to hire a total of 80,000 workers for the holiday rush, down from about 83,000 last year. The company has been closing underperforming stores and currently operates some 70 fewer stores than it did last year.  

Early signs from retailers indicate a hot job market for workers this holiday season.    Despite store closures and consolidation within the industry, retailers are signaling that there might be high demand for seasonal jobs, according to a forecast from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.   

With access to more disposable income, Hispanic consumers will up their holiday spending this year — especially through e-commerce.  

Target Corp. announced a major investment for the holiday shopping season.    The discounter said it plans to hire approximately 100,000 employees for the upcoming holiday season, which is up about 40%.    Additionally, Target will hire 4,500 workers at the company’s distribution and fulfillment centers to replenish products to stores and fulfill digital sales throughout the season.   

Target Corp. is launching a new brand with HGTV's 'Fixer Upper' stars Chip and Joanna Gaines, and it's doing it just in time for the holidays.   The retailer announced an exclusive multi-year partnership with Magnolia, the home and lifestyle brand founded by the Gaines, to launch a home and lifestyle goods line called Hearth & Hand. It is Magnolia’s first collaboration with a retailer.   

One of the first holiday quarter sales forecasts is out of the gate.   Global retail consulting firm Kantar Retail predicts that U.S. retail sales will grow 3.7% in the fourth quarter of this year. The forecast represents an improvement relative to weak growth of only 2.9% in the year ago period. But it is underwhelming compared to average growth prior to the recession of 5.0%, according to Kantar.