eCommerce

NEW YORK — It seems that traditional grocery stores and established food brands may lose their position in the market due to a confluence of changing demographics, economic factors and customer preferences, according to new research from global investment bank Jefferies and global business advisory firm AlixPartners.

Retailers can’t seem to get enough of partnerships these days…be it with hot designers, each other or television shows. Below is a quick recap of three new couplings that have the industry buzzing.

1. Nordstrom and Topshop: Looking to add more fashion sizzle to its offerings, Nordstrom has entered into a joint venture with Topshop, the British fast-fashion giant known for its runway-inspired threads and rock ‘n’ roll attitude.

New York -- Fifth & Pacific Cos., formerly known as Liz Claiborne, said that its Kate Spade LLC brand is buying out the interest of its partner in a joint venture based in Japan, the Associated Press reported.

Kate Spade will have full ownership of Kate Spade Japan Co. after it buys Sanei International Co.'s 51%  stake in the business. Fifth & Pacific said the deal is expected to cost $45 million to $50 million, including debt repayment and transaction fees.

New York -- Lord & Taylor has entered into an exclusive partnership with Lifetime’s Project Runway for the television shows’ tenth anniversary season.

The partnership includes an exclusive retail sponsorship for the season and a comprehensive integrated marketing program.

By Dr. Gary Edwards, Empathica

Recently, online fashion retailer Piperlime announced plans to open its first brick-and-mortar location in New York City. For many, the announcement seemed to fly in the face of conventional wisdom given the competitive pricing and other advantages e-commerce providers have over traditional retailers.

Why would a successful e-tailer like Piperlime want to take on the additional cost and headaches associated with a physical store?

London -- Hong Kong is the world’s most expensive retail destination, with retail rents at $3,864 per square foot, according to the quarterly rankings of global retail rents from global property advisor CBRE Group. CBRE cited the city’s significant inbound tourist traffic and continued increases in domestic wealth as fueling demand from international fashion and luxury retailers.
 

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Eddie Bauer is engaging the software services of ChannelAdvisor to broaden online visibility and simplify the selling process on shopping engines, ChannelAdvisor anounced. Specifically, Eddie Bauer is using Managed Marketplaces and Managed Comparison Shopping solutions.

Yikes! After a monstrous earnings miss, Supervalu suspended its earnings guidance and dividend and said it was exploring strategic alternatives.

SEATTLE — Amazon.com is growing its presence in the highly competitive gaming market with the launch of Game Connect, a new service that enables customers to discover a new category of free-to-play and multiplayer online digital games and have virtual goods delivered directly to their game accounts.

Amazon's new service allows customers to link their game account to their Amazon account so any subscriptions and virtual goods purchased are sent directly into the game without copy and pasting a code.

When Craig Herkert left Walmart a few years ago to become president and CEO of Supervalu the situation that unfolded earlier this week at the grocer was not what he had in mind.