News Briefs

The offices of Chain Store Age will be closed on Monday, May 27, in observance of Memorial Day.

Daybreaker will resume publishing on Tuesday, May 28.  We wish our readers a happy and safe holiday!

Twenty-years after it opened its first — and only —U.S. store, Nintendo is planning a follow-up.

Nintendo of America said it plans to open an official store in San Francisco’s Union Square. The store, called Nintendo San Francisco, will open in 2025. It will be the video game giant’s second official location in the United States, joining the Nintendo store at Rockefeller Center in New York City. (Nintendo, however, also has venues at U.S. theme parks.)

The two-level NYC store, which officially opened in 2005, features Nintendo games and related merchandise, hardware and accessories. The second floor is devoted to museum-like display cases of Nintendo consoles. 

There are only three Nintendo stores outside of the U.S. They are all located in Japan, in the cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. 

Nintendo did not release any details about the upcoming San Francisco store, other than to say it would provide a way “for a wide range of visitors from near and far to experience the world of Nintendo, its products, and characters.” The company said it would release more information as the opening draws closer.

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is plotting a big expansion in the Southwest.

The fast-casual taco chain has signed two multi-unit development agreements to mark the brand’s expansion throughout Arizona and Texas. The deals will bring 40 new restaurants to market over the next eight years.

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop franchisee Marc Rogers of Rogers Restaurant Group signed an agreement to bring 15 new restaurants to Arizona and the Phoenix area by 2032. Rogers Restaurant Group opened their first Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in Fort Collins, Colo. in 2011, and today owns and/or operates 16 Fuzzy’s restaurants throughout Colorado.

Hnreck Nazarian of Nazarian Global Enterprises (NGE) will become the newest Fuzzy’s Taco Shop franchisee and open 25 new restaurants over the next seven years throughout the Houston market. A multi-unit restaurant operator with 23 IHOP restaurants, NGE has been an IHOP franchisee since 2001, owning their first IHOP restaurant in Houston.

"Fuzzy’s has transformed from a single neighborhood taco shop with a chill vibe in Fort Worth, Texas into an emerging, nationally franchised concept with an exceptional bar program and a Baja-inspired menu that our guests have come to crave," said Paul Damico, president of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. “As we prepare to grow Fuzzy’s Taco Shops throughout Arizona and Texas, we’re excited to work with existing and new franchisees to help lead the growth.”

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, which operates nearly 130 locations in 18 states, was acquired by Dine Brands Global in 2022, which also supports and operates Applebee's and IHOP franchises.

Retail Ecommerce Ventures, which owned a portfolio of online retail sites, is no longer an operating entity.

Omni Retail Enterprises is a new company that has acquired most of the assets from REV. The transaction that ceded the REV assets to Omni Retail terminated REV as an operating entity. With the transaction, Omni Retail is now the parent company of Pier 1.com, DressBarn.com, BodyBuilding.com and Mentorbox.com. It also owns the intellectual property of Modell’s Sporting Goods, Franklin Mint, SteinMart, Linens-N-Things, and Ralph & Russo. 

"At Omni we strive for versatility and excellence," said Raj Gupta, executive chair of Omni Retail Enterprises. “From product curation and cutting-edge technology to award-winning customer service and engaging content, we plan to provide customers and users with an unforgettable experience. We look forward to embarking on this new and exciting venture and connecting with millions of passionate customers along the way.”

Danielle Bitts, director of brand and marketing at Omni Retail, told Chain Store Age that the company is working hard to create unique communities that address their members specific current and future needs and desires. 

“Part of this will be the assortment of products curated by merchandising experts, and the content crafted for each community is equally critical for the long-term growth of these iconic brands,” she said. 

Omni Retail plans to include organic social strategies as part of its community building efforts. With this will come new content, creators and partnerships, said Bitts.

Insomnia Cookies is launching a new rewards program to help loyal customers save.

The cookie chain’s new Insomnia Rewards program is launched in partnership with PAR Punchh, ParTech, Inc.’s guest retention and offering solution. The program is designed to enhance consumer experience and elevate engagement across Insomnia’s network of over 280 stores across the United States and Canada. 

The new Insomnia Rewards program includes the following benefits:

• Earn 10 points for every $1 spent: Members can earn points on every purchase in-store and online to use towards products like cookies, brownies, ice cream and more.
• Member only offers: Insomnia Rewards members will get exclusive access to discounts, freebies and limited-time menu offerings items all year long.
• Redeem rewards quickly: Members can start redeeming their rewards in as little as one purchase.
• It’s free: Free to join so customers can start saving money on their favorite desserts from Insomnia Cookies.

“We are thrilled to unveil our new Insomnia Rewards loyalty program to give our devoted Insomniacs an even more enhanced experience,” said Tom Carusona, chief marketing officer of Insomnia Cookies. “Our brand is built on innovation and creativity, and we look forward to giving our customers more reasons to connect with our crave-worthy products and brand."

Headquartered in Philadelphia and founded in a University of Pennsylvania dorm room in 2003, Insomnia Cookies operates more than 275 locations nationwide.

Insomnia Cookies has rapidly grown since its 2018 acquisition by Krispy Kreme, and was expected to generate revenues of approximately $230 million in fiscal year 2023. Forty-five percent of its revenue is generated digitally.

In October 2023, the company said it was exploring strategic alternatives for Insomnia Cookies, including considering an all-cash sale.

Two retailers dominate the consumer electronics market when it comes to consumer spend. 

Best Buy and Amazon account for 31% and 27% of overall sales in select consumer electronics categories in the past year, respectively, according to the Numerator Consumer Electronics Tracker, which provides quarterly insight into omnichannel consumer buying behavior in select electronics categories. Walmart is third, accounting for 14.3%.

In other insights, Gen X and millennial shoppers are the most likely to purchase electronics throughout the year. And across all consumers, November and December are the most popular months for electronics purchases, followed by July. 

Most consumer electronics categories saw a slight decline in both household penetration and buy rate in the past year, according to the Numerator report. The categories that saw growth in household penetration were computer monitors & peripherals (34.2% HHP) and video game consoles & accessories (30.2%).

Here are other findings from the Numerator quarterly update.

•Amazon saw spikes around their summer and fall Prime Day events, growing to 39.2% of sales in July and 31.4% in October, overtaking Best Buy in those two months and resulting in share dips for all major competing retailers. 

*Over half (53.9%) of consumer electronics buyers said the price of their item was about what they anticipated ahead of purchasing, while 25% said it cost less than they anticipated. 

•The most common ways shoppers discovered their electronic items were in-store (32.8%), on retailer websites (26.1%), followed by recommendations from family or friends (22.2%) or online customer reviews (11.9%).