Home Improvement

Sam’s Club is introducing a new way for shoppers to get a head start on their holiday shopping: Pre-Black Friday.

The nation’s eighth largest retailer and the warehouse division of Walmart is planning to give Sam's Club members early access to exclusive savings on some of the most sought-after holiday items and Thanksgiving meal must-haves.

HHgregg 's CEO says the company is on track to meet key financial objectives even though it posted negative same-store sales growth and a larger loss in the second quarter.

Establishing an Internet of Things (IoT) technology strategy may not be easy, but can offer substantial rewards to retailers who overcome the inevitable challenges.

“There is a vast opportunity to use IoT technology to connect retailers with their assets and consumers,” said Michael Colaneri, VP of sales for restaurant, retail and CPG, AT&T, during an exclusive interview with Chain Store Age. “But it requires business process re-engineering to connect multiple edgepoints.”

Texture Plus, the largest U.S. manufacturer of high-impact textured faux wall panels, urged the United States Senate and House of Representatives to quickly pass the “Restaurant and Retail Jobs and Growth Act.”

“Retailers and restaurants depend on remodeling their locations every five years to stay competitive,” said Brian Kampe, CEO. “The standard 39 year depreciation for building remodeling makes those improvements a difficult tax burden.”

Rather than let third-party platforms have all the online home services fun to themselves, Sears is joining the game.

Sears Home Services is launching a new site, SearsHomeServices.com, aimed at connecting homeowners with Sears-certified technicians. The site also offers do-it-yourself information. Technicians are regionally listed and rated by criteria such as number of repairs completed, average cost, and length of repair time. Customer reviews are also featured.

Lowe’s is giving customers a full 3-D view of their home projects, at home as well as in the store.

Lowe’s Innovation Labs, the retailer’s proprietary technology development center, is updating its Holoroom technology and expanding its availability. Partnering with virtual reality technology provider Oculus VR and Google, Lowe’s has upgraded its Holoroom feature, which lets customers visualize how they could use tools and materials sold at Lowe’s.

Venture Commercial has completed two leases on behalf of Northern Tool + Equipment in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, in the White Bear Marketplace, and in Live Oak, Texas, in The Village at Forum Parkway Shopping Center. Clay Mote of Venture Commercial, who is the master broker for Northern Tool + Equipment, made the announcement.

Ikea plans to install a solar energy system atop its Las Vegas store, opening summer 2016.

Panel installation will begin this winter, with completion expected in spring for what Ikea says will be the largest single-use rooftop solar array by a retailer in the state of Nevada. The 351,000-sq.-ft. future Ikea Las Vegas, and 1,300 parking spaces, currently is under construction.