Retail

By Leslie Hand, research director, IDC Retail Insights

Ron Johnson's highly publicized short tenure at J.C. Penney, or JCP, as it was rebranded, will certainly make it into the textbooks and graduate theses on what to do and what not to do when undertaking a significant retail business transformation. The primary failure was not putting customer needs first in what promised to be an excellent long term strategy. Oops — forget the customer in an omni-channel customer strategy?

What a colossal mistake!

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. on Tuesday reported a bigger-than-expected first quarter loss on weak sales of wireless phone contracts. The company also reported that it is updating its brand and will begin remodeling select locations with a new look and feel over the next few weeks.

Joseph C. Magnacca, a former Walgreens executive who became CEO of RadioShack in February, remarked on the initial priorities and initiatives underway. Last week, he named a new chief marketing officer and a new SVP store concepts.

Tampa, Fla. -- Applied Data Corporation (ADC), a provider of fresh item management (FIM), recipe management and scales management software to the grocery retail and food service industries, announces that Publix Super Markets, a 1,068 store chain headquartered in Lakeland, Fla., has selected InterScale, ADC's Scales Management Software system, for data transmission to and from the barcode labeling scales in their stores.
 

New York -- The National Retail Federation applauded a Senate vote to proceed with debate on S.743, an act to level the sales tax field for online and brick-and-mortar stores.

NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay issued the following statement: “NRF applauds today’s Senate vote on the Marketplace Fairness Act and we commend Senators Enzi, Durbin, Alexander and Heitkamp for their skilled leadership in moving this legislation ahead.”


New York -- Icing, a division of Claire’s Stores, is being re-branded with a new store design, new logo and updated imagery, Women’s Wear Daily reported.

The jewelry and accessories retailer plans to open some 35 stores this year, including a flagship in Chicago. The new locations will feature the updated design. Existing stores will be remodeled.
 

Starbucks Coffee Company's  two-level store at the corner of Chicago's Oak and Rush Streets has a distinct Chicago feel, and reinforces the company's recycled, reclaimed and reused materials philosophy and coffee origins theme. The walls are lined with reclaimed local brick; salvaged wood from disused boxcars clads walls, ceilings and fixtures. A floor-to-ceiling diagram of the world’s coffee-growing regions, done by a local artist, is featured downstairs.

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores CEO Mike Duke received pay package in 2012 worth $20.7 million, up 14% from the previous year, according to an Associated Press analysis of a regulatory filing Monday. Duke's performance-based cash bonus jumped more than 50%.

In the regulatory filing, Wal-Mart said that starting this year, it will tie some of Duke's compensation, along with that of other top executives, to the company's success in strengthening its compliance controls. Traditionally, compensation has been based on financial measures.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Department Stores released its 2012 corporate social responsibility report, providing updates on the company’s programs and accomplishments in sustainability, community relations and social compliance. The company noted that, as of the end of fiscal 2012, it has achieved 752 Energy Star-certified locations, adding 75 stores in 2012 with a goal to reach 800 certified locations by 2015.

In other sustainability highlights, at the end of fiscal 2012: