Retail

Plano, Texas -- Rent-A-Center has opened its newest location in Bartlett, Tenn. Rent-A-Center operates 82 locations in the state of Tennessee.

The retailer also operates more than 3,000 stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. It employs more than 21,000 workers.

San Diego – On Jan. 30, 2014, PriceSmart, Inc. acquired approximately 147,000 usable sq. ft. of land in the city of Medellin, Colombia, and leased approximately 126,000 usable sq. ft. of land in the city of Bogota, Colombia, upon which the company plans to construct two new warehouse club stores. These two warehouse clubs are currently planned to open before the end of calendar year 2014.

Our industry has talked so much about omnichannel that it seems only the “aha” gets our attention anymore. Here’s the problem: Our talk is well ahead of our ability to execute. And execution is what matters.

Omnichannel isn’t sexy. It’s not about “Wow.” It’s about making it easier for people accustomed to an anything-anytime-anywhere world to do business with us. That’s primarily a question of organization, commitment and execution, for manufacturers as well as retailers.

Boise, Idaho - WinCo Foods, LLC will open its first discount supermarkets in the state of Texas on Feb. 6, in the cities of Fort Worth and McKinney. The stores are each approximately 95,000 sq. ft. in size and include WinCo's newest decor package creating an efficient, clean feel that highlights product and coordinates with the hundreds of WinCo Foods private label products the company has recently introduced.

By Rory Dennis, Amplience

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation on Monday urged Congress to take a comprehensive approach as it contemplates a national response to criminal cyber attacks in which millions of consumers’ credit and debit card numbers were stolen. NRF said retailers are willing to do their part to improve security, but that banks and card companies must also take major steps to shore up the current fraud-prone payments system.

Stop & Shop has donated more than $2 million to hunger relief organizations across the Northeast thanks to participating customers.

According to the Greater Boston Food Bank, for every dollar donated they can provide three meals to those in need, so the combined efforts from Stop & Shop New England and Stop & Shop New York Metro divisions will help provide more than 6 million meals.

Online premium-candy marketer Sugarfina has opened its first retail location, in Beverly Hills, Calif. The 1,400-sq.-ft. space is designed as a luxury candy boutique, with a large glass skylight and airy bubble chandeliers that hang like clouds in the sky. Sugarfina candy in hundreds of colors line the walls on thin floating shelves — the candy appears to be floating.