Retail

Sears Holdings has been making news lately mostly by closing stores. But in an unexpected move, the troubled retailer announced plans to test a freestanding appliance specialty store concept .

Walmart offered its own version of the Amazon Prime Day online sales event last summer, and now is directly taking on Amazon Prime. The discount giant is piloting a two-day version of its paid ShippingPass unlimited online delivery program. Normally, customers pay $50 per year for the ability to obtain three-day delivery of more than 1 million items Walmart.com with no additional fees.

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.

Walmart is escalating competition with Amazon’s Prime service. The discounter’s online subscription ShippingPass program, which is still in pilot, will begin offering delivery in two days rather than three, Bloomberg reported.

There will not be a tattoo parlor in the new 365 by Whole Foods Market chain. But there will be less products, less employees and more bright color accents compared to a traditional Whole Foods—and there will also be a robot, according to a report in The New York Times.

Mark Horgan has been named executive vice president and chief investment officer at Brixmor Property Group and been give a wide range of responsibilities as the newest member of a revamped senior leadership team.