eCommerce

Fabletics, Kate Hudson’s athletic wear and accessories line, is taking the next step in the evolution of the brand.

The athleisure brand co-founded by the award-winning actress will open its first brick-and-mortar stores at five General Growth Properties (GGP) shopping centers this fall to build off the success of its e-commerce platform.

Launched in 2013, Fabletics offers premium fashion-forward activewear for women, and recently launched a versatile and high-performance athletic wear line for men, FL2.

Amazon.com and Walmart aren’t the only retailers lowering prices this month. Food Lion has jumped on bandwagon at its 1,100 stores with a three-pronged price reduction effort.

Food Lion has announced significant investments in prices throughout its stores by lowering prices on thousands of items that are most important to customers, according to the company, tapping into its longstanding heritage of low prices and convenient locations.

Cincinnati -- The highly publicized mixed-use project Liberty Center, in Cincinnati, Ohio, has just announced its first slate of retail tenants.  

With a scheduled October 2015 opening, Liberty Center includes more than 800,000 sq. ft. of retail, restaurants and entertainment, including a 200,000-sq.-ft. Dillard’s anchor that will be the state of Ohio’s first ground-up Dillard’s store.

Chicago -- The list of online retailers jumping into the offline space keeps getting longer. And this one has celebrity underpinnings.

New York -- Crate & Barrel has nabbed a CEO from the executive ranks of a much more upscale competitor.

The home furnishings retailer named Doug Diemoz, currently chief development officer at Restoration Hardware, as CEO, effective Aug. 1. He replaces Sascha Bopp, who was named CEO in 2012 but left in August 2014. Crate & Barrel COO and CFO Adrian Mitchell has been interim CEO during the search for a permanent replacement.

Chain Store Age recently published a list of the top 10 most-read stories of the first half of 2015, and eight are directly focused on brick-and-mortar stores. This is no great surprise because even as retail and society and general enter a true “Digital Age,” physical stores remain as crucial as they were in the pre-industrial era.

Here are three reasons that brick-and-mortar stores are still a vital part of any retailer’s omnichannel strategy.

New York -- J.Crew Group, a company struggling to regain its mojo, is jumping into the value category.

The company announced it will launch a new store banner, J.Crew Mercantile, selling lower-priced (“value-driven”) merchandise with classic J. Crew styles for women, men and children. The first J.Crew Mercantile store will open in late July, at The Shops at Park Lane in Dallas. The retailer plans to open more Mercantile stores in strip centers and some malls, Bloomberg reported.

Seattle – Retailers of oversized items like barbecue grills and large-screen TVs may want to consider offering same-day delivery services.

According to a survey of 615 U.S. adults by same-day delivery provider Fleetzen, 25% of respondents said a same-day delivery option would increase their likelihood of a purchase of an oversize item, while another 39% indicated it would give a significant boost to their chances of purchasing an oversized item.
 

New York - American Eagle Outfitters is getting “extreme” with a new omnichannel sweepstakes it is running in stores nationwide and online from July 11 through July 22.

The specialty apparel chain is partnering with World Freerunning & Parkour Federation athletes Gaeton Boullett, Max Henry, Paul Joseph and Tim Burton to promote its Denim X and Flex denim products.

Salt Lake City – Overstock.com is expanding the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables for its customers. The off-price e-commerce retailer already makes fresh farm-grown produce available to nearly half of Americans through its online farmers market store, which serves customers in 35 states.