Retail

Amazon found a savvy way to remind customers that it now owns Whole Foods Market.  

A wellness retailer is making is easier for its Chinese shoppers to make online purchases.   By partnering with Alipay, GNC Holdings is enabling all registered users of the payment platform in China to purchase vitamins, supplements, minerals, herbs, sports nutrition, diet, and energy products on its e-commerce site. Besides being a leading online payment provider in China, Alipay has 520 million registered users that access the platform to make online and mobile payments.  

Restaurants, off-price retailers, dollar stores and furniture outlets are likely to remain firmly in the brick-and-mortar corner even with the continued rise of online shopping.   That is according to a new report by JLL, which explores the relationship between how shoppers value goods and the way 13 retail categories will be sold.  

Disney's marketing firepower will be on full display starting at  12:01 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 1, when it launches a global merchandise promotion — complete with augmented reality — of toys and products inspired by its upcoming film, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."  

Riverstone Capital Group has purchased the 43,199-sq.-ft. Shops at Lexington Circle in the Atlanta suburb of Peachtree City.   Anchored by a Sprouts Farmers Market and located on the West Highway 54 retail corridor, the property offered for sale by Mirabeland Investments and Concordia Properties was not on the market long, according to the deal’s broker.  

Big Lots topped Street estimates in its second quarter as shoppers continue to seek out bargains.    Net income rose 28.2 % to $29.1 million, or $0.67 per diluted share, in the quarter ended July 29, 2017, from adjusted income of $23.4 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, in the year-ago period. Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.62 per share  

Mobile payments processor Square has set up shop in New York City.   The company has opened a store, called Square Showroom and located in downtown Manhattan, that provides hands-on support for merchants using its technology and space to display — and let sellers experience — its POS hardware. The store includes a Genius Bar-like support desk, where sellers can make appointments with Square employees to troubleshoot a specific issue or get training on a new product.  

JAB Holding Company, the Luxembourg-based private equity firm, continues to expand its U.S. portfolio at a rapid pace. The company has entered into an agreement to buy Bruegger’s Bagels from Le Duff America, the Dallas-based parent of la Madeleine French Bakery & Cafe. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.