eCommerce

The year 2015 was a big one for mergers and acquisitions in the retail and consumer sectors, with 31 multibillion dollar deals driving activity during the year.

United States retail and consumer (R&C) total transaction value for 2015 hit a five-year high and surpassed the $100 billion mark for the third year in a row, according to PwC’s U.S. retail and consumer deals insights 2015 Year in Review and 2016 Outlook report.

dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc. will open a 20,000-sq.-ft. store at Parkshire Center in Wilcrest, Texas on Feb. 6. The location is 14 miles southwest of downtown Houston, at the intersection of Highway 59 and Wilcrest Drive.

The new store ups dd’s store count in Texas to 37 locations, making it the retailer’s second largest state. With the new opening, the chain will operate 175 locations in 15 states.

Vertical omnichannel footwear retailer Allen Edmonds Corp. needs to ensure brand and price consistency across a dizzying array of consumer touch-points.

Port Lake, Wisconsin-based Allen Edmonds is using the Ugam brand intelligence solution to monitor channel pricing, enforce minimum advertised price policy and manage channel relationships. Allen Edmonds needs to manage these activities in its 59 corporate stores and e-commerce site, as well as with third-party retail partners.

Brookstone has unveiled a new retail brand, Carry On, in the Delta Terminal at the Salt Lake City International Airport.

Created for airport locations and designed by Boston-based Bergmeyer Associates, the approximate 800-sq.-ft. store offers an assortment of travel-friendly products, from “packable” apparel to luggage and wallets. Additional locations are expected to open this year.

Springfield may be home to the “The Simpsons.” But it won’t be home to the first-ever retail store dedicated to the long-running (27 years) television cartoon series.

20th Century Fox has announced that the world's first Simpsons store will open in Beijing, China, in March, followed by a second location, in Shanghai, by June.

Online deal provider Groupon is attempting to increase supply chain efficiency in a way that will allow it to offer even more and better discounts.

Groupon is partnering with Optoro, a platform for returned and excess inventory, to better process returns for its Groupon Goods business. Groupon Goods offers discounts on physical items.

Lucky Brand may be 25 years old, but with two new prototypes performing well and a series of omnichannel investments yielding results, the private equity-backed company’s most significant growth could be just beginning.