Appliances

Amazon set new records this holiday season, and its first-party sellers, especially those selling gadgets, are reaping the rewards.   Besides shipping more than 1 billion items worldwide the week follow-ing Christmas, Amazon welcomed 3 million new Amazon Prime members who signed up in the days leading up to Dec. 25, according to the retail behemoth.   

Aaron Trahan has been appointed chief merchandising officer at Hhgregg.   Trahan has over 14 years of retail merchandising experience, including 10 years in a merchandising leadership role. The specialty retailer plans to leverage Trahan’s leadership in appliances, electronics and furniture merchandising, especially as the company expands its furniture business in 2017, Hhgregg said  

J.C. Penney is testing a category more typically associated with Home Depot or Lowe’s than a department store: heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.    According to a report by Dallas Morning News, the test is being done in partnership with Trane, an HVAC company, and includes a display of the HVAC service near the major appliances at a few locations.

Hoping to bolster sales across its home appliance category, Best Buy opened five outlet locations dedicated to major appliances.   The outlet stores are located in San Antonio and Famers Branch, Texas, Raleigh, N.C., Newark, Del., and Moreno Valley, Calif. All five locations opened this month, according to The Dallas News.  

As the holiday shopping season enters the home stretch, it’s brand’s last chance to deliver the categories shoppers need to complete their gift purchases.  

Lowe's Canada has made some strides since it acquired RONA Inc. in May.   At the time, the company had made a number of promises to RONA stakeholders, including that it would maintain RONA's multiple retail banner strategy, its local and ethical procurement strategy, and the vast majority of its employees and senior executives. It also promised to enhance distribution services to affiliate dealers, among other things.  

Among the retail strategies employed by Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores to turn around its business, the store-within-a-store concept might rank as the most inventive.   Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores have been cropping up inside existing Ace locations around the country (and in some cases, built from the ground up as a combo store).   The latest example of this is taking place in Santa Paula, California, inside the Heritage Ace Hardware located at 568 Suite C West Main Street.  

Sears Holdings Corp.’ woes mounted in the third quarter, as the struggling retailer reported its 20th consecutive quarterly loss and another drop in same-store sales.        Although Sears CEO Eddie Lampert said Sears is “fully committed to restoring profitability,” the retailer’s disastrous quarterly performance caused some industry experts to say Sears’ demise is now a matter of when, not if.  

Online spending hit a new record this past Black Friday, surpassing the $3 billion mark for the first time.   According to Adobe, Black Friday online spending surged 21.6%  year-over-year to $3.34 billion. Total online spending for both Thanksgiving and Black Friday hit $5.27 billion, reflecting a 17.7% increase over last year.  

In a new post on Target's A Bullseye View blog, Target CIO Mike McNamara explains the reasoning behind the retailer's decision to offer an extensive Cyber Monday promotion: 15% off site-wide and store-wide from Nov. 27 to Nov. 28.   McNamara says the retailer's move to combine stores and online for a more seamless holiday shopping experience marks a new chapter in Cyber Monday history.