Department Store

Nordstrom is giving shoppers a new way to earn loyalty points.   As of Friday, Jan. 20, Nordstrom Rewards members will earn points toward Nordstrom Notes when they use their Nordstrom credit and debit cards at the chain’s Trunk Club division, a personalized styling service for men and women, offering both virtual and in-person shopping options.   Additionally, Trunk Club will waive its $25 home try-on fee when shoppers order curated trunks of clothing using their Nordstrom card. 

A mixed-use project with 103,000 sq. ft. of retail in the western suburbs of Chicago has been purchased by Retail Properties of America for $88 million.   Main Street Promenade, a town center style development in Naperville, is 93% leased and includes tenants such as Ann Taylor, Sur la Table, White House | Black Market, and Anthropologie.   

Hubert Joly, chairman and CEO of Best Buy, denied a report that has him taking the helm of a European retailing giant.    A report by Reuters, which cited Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico, said that Carrefour, the world’s second largest retailer, had identified Joly as a replacement for its current CEO, Georges Plassat, whose term ends in May 2018.     

In its latest move to stay afloat, Sears is scrapping its associate discount program in favor of a new concept.    Sears’ employee discount program, which gave employees money off purchases at checkout, is transitioning to a service that will reward asso-ciates with points through the chain’s Shop Your Way loyalty program. The change, which will impact all active Sears Holdings associates, spouses and eligible dependents, is set to launch on Sunday, Jan. 29.  

Though General Growth Properties has long been most commonly known as GGP in the retail industry, the big mall owner has now made it official.   Effective Jan. 27, the big mall owner with 126 properties in 40 states, officially changes its name to GGP. Founded in 1954 to develop grocery-anchored strip centers, GGP evolved into one of the largest providers of A-level mall space.  

More North American shoppers will have access to Alipay.   Through a partnership with leading luxury travel retailer DFS Group, Alipay’s in-store mobile payment service will be available in DFS’ Honolulu International Airport store, and its downtown T Galleria by DFS, Hawaii store in advance of the Chinese New Year. DFS Group launched Alipay in its airport stores in SFO, LAX, and JFK in 2016.  

Nearly half of retailer leaders will be out of business if they don’t transform themselves digitally.   This is according to “Reinventing Retail: Cisco Reveals How Stores Can Surge Ahead on the Digital Transformation Journey,” a study based on data from 200 retail executives from North and South America and regions of Europe. Companies represent brick-and-mortar retailers, e-commerce, apparel manufacturers, food service and other segments of retail.  

A Wireless, which operates more than 1,140 Verizon-branded stores in 46 states, has appointed 26-year retail veteran George Sherman as its new CEO.   Most recently, Sherman was president and also served as interim CEO for Advance Auto Parts. Prior to that, he was senior VP, global services and president, Best Buy Services for Best Buy from 2009 until 2013.