Retail

Sugarfina is looking to expand its luxury candy offerings, online and in stores.    The company announced it has closed a $35 million growth equity financing from Great Hill Partners, bringing Sugarfina's total funding to over $50 million. The new funding will be used to continue scaling the brand across retail, digital, wholesale, and corporate gifting, and to expand internationally to the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Sugarfina will begin its overseas expansion in early 2018.  

Costco Wholesale Corp. turned in a winning performance in July, fueled by strong traffic trends.   The company reported that its net sales in July rose 8.8% to $9.41 billion, compared to $8.65 billion during the similar period last year. Total company same-store sales rose 6.2%, with a 6.0% increase in the U.S. Excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange, total same-store sales rose 5.3%, and 5.5% in the U.S.   

Amazon’s investments in the shoe business are paying off.   While 2017 is not even close to over, it is shaping up to being a strong year for shoes on Amazon. The company has already experienced 18% growth year-over-year during the first two quarters, alone. For 2016, Amazon had a total of 35% year-over-year growth, according to a study by One Click Retail.   

One of the retail tech start-ups from the inaugural class of the Target + Techstars retail accelerator program is expanding.  

The address of Under Armour’s new brand house in Detroit — 1201 Woodward Avenue — is an historic one in retail. There, in 1917, S.S. Kresge, the forerunner of Kmart, opened its first Detroit “five-and-dime.” The Kresge Building figures in recent retail history, too, as one of the bloc of buildings purchased by Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert in his quest to revitalize Detroit’s blighted downtown.  

Amazon’s Australian online store is one step closer to launching.   In addition to announcing the site of its first Australian warehouse, the online giant also named a German executive as its country manager. Both moves indicate that Amazon is preparing to launch its online store in the world's 12th-biggest economy, according to Reuters.  

Another retail sector continues to consolidate.   The Aldo Group Inc. said it will acquire the footwear and accessories businesses of the Camuto Group. Both companies are family owned. The news comes just over a week after Michael Kors announced it was buying Jimmy Choo.   

Chain Store Age announced the selection of the Advisory Board for SPECS/2018, the annual retail event produced by CSA and attended by retail and food-service executives who plan, design, build, and maintain stores and restaurants nationwide.     Now in its 54th year, SPECS will host its 2018 conference in Dallas, at the Gaylord Texan, March 18-20. The event will focus on what’s next, and what is shaping the future of physical retail.