Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Hungry consumers in Portland just got a new option for convenient eating.

Amazon.com is enabling Prime Now customers in Portland to obtain free delivery from local restaurants and food carts. Using the Prime Now mobile app, Portland customers can view participating restaurants, browse menus, place orders, track the status of their delivery, and watch as the driver travels from the restaurant to the delivery address in real time.

Once an order is placed, Amazon delivery drivers pick up and deliver the food within an hour or less.

As consumers continue to embrace athleisure wear, retail startups are clamoring to bust into the multi-billion dollar industry. Outdoor Voices – a chic athleisure wear brand for men and women, founded by 27-year-old designer and CEO Tyler Haney in 2012 – is doing a fine job of getting its foot in the door.

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?

Restoration Hardware unveiled its newest store concept, one aimed at a more modern sensibility than its existing stores.

The retailer says its new brand, RH Modern, aims to offer one of the most fully integrated assortments of modern furnishings, lighting and décor under one brand in the world. The multichannel business debuts with its own 540-page magazine-catalog hybrid, a dedicated website, and a significant retail presence, including a standalone RH Modern store.

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.

Physical credit cards may be going the way of DVDs and floppy disks.

According to new analysis from Bankrate.com cited by PayPal, 63% of millennials do not have a credit card. However, that does not mean they are abandoning credit-based purchases.

Millennials are now the fastest growing segment of PayPal Credit shoppers, rising to 33% of the total in 2015 up from 28% in 2013. Rather than shunning credit altogether, this influential group is turning to alternative credit services to help manage their finances.

Ross Dress for Less will open a new store in West Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Oct. 10.

The 26,000-sq.-ft. store is located in Westfork Plaza.

With this new location, Ross will operate 153 stores in Florida. The opening is part of the retailer’s 2015 expansion program, totaling approximately 70 new locations during the year.