Department Store

More Americans are planning holiday-related purchases this year than in 2014, and those who plan to shop will spend more over a longer period of time, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Top marketers at Neiman Marcus and Home depot were among a group of marketing executives recognized by the CMO Club this week.

The CMO Club, established to celebrate the marketing industry's brightest leaders and to provide a forum to share their successes with other CMOs, determined four winners in various categories.

Bon-Ton is planning to hire thousands of seasonal workers this holiday season for its 270 Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers department stores.

The company says it will hire 13,000 seasonal workers, about as many as last year, and will also hire 500 seasonal employees at its e-commerce fulfillment center and at its distribution centers.

The majority of retailers are not doing a very good job when it comes to integrating online channels with brick-and-mortar stores.

What’s more, many retailers are not properly balancing their investment spend, sometimes investing more in online while neglecting their physical stores, which puts them in danger of losing market share.

No matter how good a retailer’s seamless experience is, without the correct product it falls apart.

Sears Holding Corp. is trying to ensure the right products are picked for the right customers with new Honeywell Vocollect voice-directed picking solutions. The retailer is working with Speech Interface Design (SID) to implement the solutions in two of its regional specialty distribution centers (RSCs) and its largest retail distribution center (RDC) in the coming months.

HRC Advisory’s annual CEO and CFO survey revealed a major disconnect between capital investments, retail growth and operating strategies.

Chain Store Age spoke with HRC Advisory CEO Antony Karabus about the survey.

What did you find most surprising about the survey results?

Leading off price retailer Ross Dress for Less has made good on its 2015 growth plans and reaffirmed its long-range targets for existing and newer formats.

On Monday, the company announced the opening of 19 Ross stores and seven dd’s Discounts stores across 14 different states in September and October. The new locations complete the retailer’s 2015 expansion plans to add a total of 90 stores during the year.

Kohl’s is speeding up its digital overhaul and expanding a new service that aims to attract shoppers who want their purchases to arrive as quickly as possible.

The company announced it will expand its partnership with Deliv to offer shoppers same-day delivery service. Deliv currently powers Kohl's same-day service in San Francisco, the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago. The service will now expand to Boston, Brooklyn/Queens, Los Angeles, Miami, Northern New Jersey, and Philadelphia in the coming weeks.