Retail

Retailers are investing heavily in their supply chains in order to cope with surging e-commerce volumes, but customer experience enhancements must be planned carefully if profitability is to be maintained.

Indianapolis -- Fresh Thyme Farmers Market may have only been in business in three years, but it is thinking big.

With some16 stores in the Midwest, the value-priced, organic specialty grocer is scheduled to open 60 stores by 2019. It will open two new location in the Indianapolis area on Aug. 6.

Phoenix -- Jeff Green, president of Jeff Green Partners, and Jerry Hoffman, president of Hoffman Strategy Group, have announced a formal collaboration to expand their companies’ work on complex, mixed-use feasibility research including retail, residential, office and hotel uses.

Cincinnati -- The highly publicized mixed-use project Liberty Center, in Cincinnati, Ohio, has just announced its first slate of retail tenants.  

With a scheduled October 2015 opening, Liberty Center includes more than 800,000 sq. ft. of retail, restaurants and entertainment, including a 200,000-sq.-ft. Dillard’s anchor that will be the state of Ohio’s first ground-up Dillard’s store.

San Francisco – Never mind Gen Y, the millennial generation that roughly ends with young consumers born in 2000.

Williams-Sonoma tween and tween banner PBteen is targeting the post-2000 “Gen Z” audience with an original six-episode Web series called “Revved Up Rooms.”

San Jose, Calif. – The upcoming spinoff of its PayPal unit may not be the only deal eBay Inc. has in the works.

According to Reuters, eBay is in advanced talks with private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP to acquire eBay’s enterprise business for close to $1 billion.

New York - American Eagle Outfitters is getting “extreme” with a new omnichannel sweepstakes it is running in stores nationwide and online from July 11 through July 22.

The specialty apparel chain is partnering with World Freerunning & Parkour Federation athletes Gaeton Boullett, Max Henry, Paul Joseph and Tim Burton to promote its Denim X and Flex denim products.

Dick’s Sporting Goods is locating one of its namesake stores next to one of its Field & Stream stores to create an intriguing  90,000-sq.-ft. concept called the All-American Sports Center.