Mass Merchant

In 2016, Chain Store Age unveiled its first-ever SPECS Ambassadors Club, created to recognize selected retail executives who have made significant contributions to the industry and to SPECS. Produced by CSA, SPECS is attended by retail and food-service executives who plan, design, build, and maintain stores and restaurants nationwide.  

One of the nation's leading supermarket executives has tapped a retail and digital veteran to join its team.    Albertsons Companies appointed Kevin Turner, former COO at Microsoft, as vice chairman of the board of managers of AB Acquisition, its direct parent. Turned has also been named senior advisor to Albertsons chairman and CEO, Bob Miller.  

Retailers sued in class or representative actions for alleged wage-and-hour violations often object to discovery requests that seek the contact information (names, addresses, etc.) of their employees — the rationale being that such information is private and burdensome to collect and should not be disclosed unless there is reason to believe that the alleged unlawful practices occurred in locations other than just the named plaintiff’s store.  

For the third straight year, L.L.Bean has beat out Amazon in a customer service ranking.   The outdoor outfitter came out on top in Prosper Insights & Analytics’ annual review of service excellence among retailers, with Amazon a close second. Rounding out the top five; Lands’ End, Fingerhut, and Kohl’s.  

Target is hitting the books.  

Volatility in the retail industry is now hitting senior retail executives in the pocketbook.   Seventy-three percent of retail companies paid little to no bonuses to senior executives in 2017 for 2016 performance, with 35% paying no bonus and 38% paying only small bonuses to their executives, according to new research by Korn Ferry. The company conducted an analysis of 40 North American retailers with annual sales between $1 billion and $50 billion  

Amazon’s investments in the shoe business are paying off.   While 2017 is not even close to over, it is shaping up to being a strong year for shoes on Amazon. The company has already experienced 18% growth year-over-year during the first two quarters, alone. For 2016, Amazon had a total of 35% year-over-year growth, according to a study by One Click Retail.   

Chain Store Age announced the selection of the Advisory Board for SPECS/2018, the annual retail event produced by CSA and attended by retail and food-service executives who plan, design, build, and maintain stores and restaurants nationwide.     Now in its 54th year, SPECS will host its 2018 conference in Dallas, at the Gaylord Texan, March 18-20. The event will focus on what’s next, and what is shaping the future of physical retail.