Convenience Stores

Walgreens makes a lucrative deal with Western Union
Walgreens has teamed up with Western Union on an initiative that may generate the drugstore chain a lot more traffic and sales.

The nation’s largest drugstore chain has launched Western Union Bill Payment services via digital self-service kiosks, allowing customers to make payments to 15,000 billers across the United States and beyond.
Cross-channel consistency
The digital and physical selling environments are converging. Whether this phenomenon is called “cross-channel”, “omnichannel”, or given some other label, consumers now routinely use their Internet-enabled (and frequently mobile) devices to find information about potential purchases, even when they are in the store. So as far as consumers are concerned, the selling channels have already converged. As a result, retailers are now forced to catch up.

Wawa ready for the Pope in Philadelphia; touts new design

Wawa managed to beat the clock in Philadelphia, opening a flagship location just in time for the Pope’s visit.

The convenience store operator opened the 4,000-sq.-ft. store nearly two months ahead of schedule, and in time for the crowds in town to see Pope Francis.

The new Wawa features an entirely new store design, colors, graphics and other one-of-a-kind features. It was designed in collaboration with Interbrand Design Forum, Dayton, Ohio, and Cuhaci and Peterson, locally based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.
The Taylor McMinn team of Marcus & Millichap sells $4.2 million

Dallas, Ga. -- Marcus & Millichap announced the sale of a 17,930-sq. ft. CVS Strip Center in Dallas, Georgia, for $4.2 million. The property is 70% anchored by CVS Health with a 15-year corporate-guaranteed double-net lease.
Shopify reads need for card payment

Shopify is keeping busy these days. The cloud-based omnichannel retail platform is launching a new credit card reader that will allow U.S.-based Shopify merchants to securely accept chip and PIN, tap, and swipe credit and debit cards.

The reader will also accept contactless payment technologies like Apple Pay. The device is designed for Shopify POS, the company’s iPad and iPhone POS used by retail and pop-up stores. Shopify is currently accepting pre-orders, with card readers to ship in the fourth quarter of this year.
Tech Bytes: Three EMV Issues That Remain Unresolved

As of Oct. 1, retailers who do not comply with the Europay, Mastercard, Visa (EMV) security standard that relies on embedded chips in payment cards face a shift in card fraud liability. Many EMV issues have not yet been resolved. Here are three big ones:

Swipe left out
Retailers have been warned repeatedly that if they do not implement EMV-compliant POS terminals, they will bear liability for any fraud resulting from an EMV card transaction.
What’s next? CART helps retailers find the answer

A new marketplace has launched with the goal of helping retailers and suppliers keep up with the blistering pace of innovation that is transforming their world.
Smart & Final to open 100-plus stores in four years

Smart & Final celebrated the one year anniversary of its public stock offering by telling investors a growth story about differentiation and new store expansion.

Smart & Final, a uniquely positioned operator of 266 warehouse style stores, has plans to open 100 new stores in the Western United States during the next four years. CEO Dave Hirz dropped that bombshell while he and other senior members of the company were at the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell to commemorate the one year anniversary of the company’s listing.
Walmart, Starbucks join global initiative for renewable energy

Nine large U.S. companies on Wednesday committed themselves to achieving a major sustainability goal — and three of them are retailers.

Walmart, Starbucks and Nike are among the firms joining RE100, a global initiative led by The Climate Group to engage, support and showcase influential businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. Other firms joining the campaign include Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Salesforce, Steelcase, Voya Financial.
PetSmart names grocery exec CFO

Former Save-A-Lot CFO Rob Anderson has joined PetSmart as CFO.

Anderson assumes his new role at the nation’s largest pet specialty retailer on Oct. 5 amid rumors that PetSmart and Petco are exploring a merger. Anderson is a veteran financial executive who most recently served as CFO of the $4.8 billion discount grocery chain Save-A-Lot.
Johnny Rockets targets millennials with new concept

Johnny Rockets is launching a fast-casual concept that the company hopes will appeal to time-starved millennials on the run.

Called Johnny’s Burger Factory, the 1,000-sq.-ft. eatery is located at the Walden Galleria mall, in Buffalo, New York, and will open on Sept. 26.
99 Cents Only offers unconventional birthday gift

Discount retailer 99 Cents Only Stores has come up with an odd new promotion to celebrate those who are becoming, “official 99ers.”

The company is known for offering door buster 99 cent specials on limited quantities at store grand openings and its latest promotion is also designed to capitalize on the 99 connection by featuring those turning 99 in direct mail ads.