Retail

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is no fan of Amazon, its founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, and The Washington Post, which Bezos also owns. Trump told Fox News personality Sean Hannity that "Amazon is getting away with murder, tax-wise. He's using The Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed.”

J.C. Penney’s corporate headquarters in Plano, Texas, saved more than $100,000 in 2015 by using an ice-based energy storage. The system, IceBank from Calmac, is one of the largest in the world, producing and storing nearly 4MW of cooling or 2.4 million pounds of ice each night. The technology has been in place at the retailer’s 1.8 million sq.-ft. headquarters for 25 years. Due to its design, it is still as efficient now as the first day it was incorporated.

While you wouldn’t know it from first-quarter slump among department stores, total retail sales posted their biggest increase in April in a year, allaying fears of a consumer falloff.

For developers, architects and commercial construction professionals, designing and building retail spaces is a highly specialized skill that requires experience and considerable expertise to master. While brand standards, design consistency and proven buildout processes lead to some welcome efficiencies, sometimes unavoidable constraints and specific requirements that are mandated both by retailers and landlords can also create unique logistical and development challenges.

Lowe’s takeover of Canadian home improvement chain gets regulatory OK With regulatory hurdles out of the way, Lowe's Cos. is one step closer to completing its acquisition of Canadian home improvement retailer Rona Inc. Lowe's has officially been granted approval under the Investment Canada Act and clearance from the Competition Bureau. Rone operates nearly 500 stores in Canada.

The Department of Labor's (DOL) proposed overtime regulations are one step closer to becoming a reality for the American workforce. On March 14, 2016, the DOL submitted their final version of the regulations to the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, signifying the last step in the regulation becoming law.

Call it a spring retail funk. The day after Macy’s posted disappointing results for its first quarter, Kohl’s Corp. upped the ante, reporting an 87% drop in net income amid heavy one-time costs. Kohl’s net income for the three months that ended April 30, was $17 million, down 87% from the $127 million Kohl's earned in the year-ago period. Excluding impairments, store closings and one-time costs, net income was $58 million, down 55%.

Party City Holdco Inc. narrowed its loss in the first quarter as gross margins improved. The party supplies retailer and wholesaler reported a loss of $394,000, in line with Wall Street expectations, for the quarter ended March 31, down from a loss of $8.5 million in the year-ago period. Total revenue was flat at $457.7 million, which missed Street forecasts.