Direct To Consumer (DTC)

A retailer that specializes in reproductions of classic home products and house parts is expanding under the ownership of Williams-Sonoma.       Rejuvenation will open its seventh retail location on Nov. 21, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The 6,000-sq.-ft. store is the retailer’s first Midwest location.  

J. Crew Group is reportedly considering options for its popular Madewell brand, which it launched in 2006.   According to Reuters, the retailer, which has struggled with slumping sales in its namesake division, is working with investment bank Lazard Ltd. to assess multiple strategic and balance sheet options for Madewell, which operates some 108 stores.  

The age of the Goliath brand is over. Now, the Davids are running the show.   The commerce landscape has consistently been dominated by giant corporations, whose brands became extremely broad, and in some ways generic. Think about Gillette. What does Gillette mean to you?    Unless you get really excited about the prospect of a 37-blade razor, Gillette as a brand probably doesn’t mean much to you. It’s just the standard razor you buy at the store.  

It’s an odd partnership — at least at first glance.   Neiman Marcus has entered into a partnership with Rent the Runway, which lets shoppers rent pricey designer dresses as opposed to buying them (at a luxe store like Neiman Marcus).       

Absolunet has released its list of the top 10 e-commerce trends that will impact North American retailers in 2017. The e-commerce agency noted that the impact of the trends will be felt online and in stores, and by retailers and consumers alike.     Here is Absolunet’s top 10 list:    1. The end of Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Tech–savvy merchants are replacing Black Friday and Cyber Monday with Cyber November;

Business is booming in the fast-growing business of medical and recreational cannabis. And the shops that specialize in the trade are taking their game up more than a few notches.      In July, The Clinic, which operates some six stores in the Denver area and is expanding into other states, opened a flagship that shows just how much the industry has evolved from the sterile, sparsely decorated storefronts of just a couple years back.       

Kenneth Cole is closing all its stores in outlet centers.   The company plans to shutter its 63 outlet stores within the next six months, Bloomberg reported. The move will leave the brand with two brick-and-mortar stores, both full priced, with one in downtown Manhattan and the other in Arlington, Va.  

Consumers in more cities will soon be able to turn to the nation’s largest e-commerce retailer to find help for home chores and services.   Amazon said it is expanding Amazon Home Services into 20 new metropolitan areas across the country, including Indianapolis; Las Vegas; San Antonio, Texas; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Cleveland, Ohio; Trenton, N.J., and more. Launched in 2015, the service now includes providers from almost 60 professions offering more than 1,200 unique services.