Retail

Two bills passed by a key House committee would help retailers save on store remodeling and improvement costs upfront.

Key forecasting metrics have remained essentially flat for five years, but one emerging technology offers retailers the chance for improvement. According to the sixth annual Forecasting Benchmark Study from supply chain software provider Terra Technology, companies using sensing demand systems consistently double overall forecast value-add and reduce error by 37%.

Shortly after expanding its e-commerce partnership with Facebook, the cloud-based multichannel Shopify platform is teaming up with another online giant. Shopify has been selected as the preferred migration provider for Amazon Webstore, making it easier for online businesses to sell on both Amazon and other channels using Shopify.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Association of Chain Drug Stores on Thursday announced the appointment of Jason Ausili as director, pharmacy affairs, effective Sept. 28. Ausili will report to Kathleen Jaeger, SVP pharmacy care and patient advocacy.

Hudson's Bay Co. has appointed Dion Rooney to executive VP, HBC digital. Rooney will be responsible for leading the HBC digital business and delivering online experience across all banners.

Rooney brings more than 30 years of senior experience in the IT field. Prior to joining HBC, Rooney served as CIO of Toys “R” Us, where he was instrumental in building a global state-of-the-art omni-channel offering. He has been developing e-commerce strategies and building digital businesses for more than a decade.

Target Corp., which has operated a proprietary innovation lab in San Francisco since 2013, is eyeing a more outward-focused approach to innovation. Target is partnering with startup accelerator Techstars to open a new retail accelerator program in its hometown of Minneapolis.

October will be over in a flash, and with it, all eyes will be on the holiday season, which is measured from November 1 through December 31.

The 2015 retail calendar has several distinctions, as we saw Memorial Day fall on the earliest possible date and Labor Day on the latest possible date. This holiday season, there are 28 days between Thanksgiving (not counting the actual day) and Christmas, which is an average amount for the period separating the two holidays.

The Home Depot is building physical infrastructure to support online operations. The home improvement giant is officially opening the third of three facilities designed to support its online business, IT transformation and overall interconnected retail strategy.

The new 1.6 million-sq.-ft. facility is located in Troy Township, Ohioand is expected to eventually employ 500 workers. Home Depot is opening the center as online sales continue to grow and currently account for 5% of total revenues.