Retail

OnlyLeggings.com is borrowing a page from the playbook of Costco and Amazon to create a membership-based program to appeal to those who regularly purchase leg wear.

Louisville, Ky. — GBT Realty Corp. has closed on the purchase of approximately 32 acres along Shelbyville Road at I-265 for the development of Middletown Commons in Louisville, Ky. Plans call for the first tenants to open in late 2014.

The mixed-use power center will include more than 225,000 sq. ft. of retail space and six outparcels ranging from 0.6 acres to 1.88 acres. According to GBT Realty, total development costs will likely exceed $50 million.

Walgreens, Walmart and Kroger were among major retailers quick to implement temporary new programs designed to help customers coping with one of the many glitches associated with the roll out of the Affordable Care Act.

Omnichannel technology drives store experience evolution

The store experience isn’t what it used to be. Rapidly developing omnichannel technologies, such as mobile and social, are redefining the very definition of a “store” and what customers can accomplish within. 

In addition, retailers can glean more information about consumers using leading-edge technology. For example, indoor location analytics vendor iInside lets retailers track and analyze store traffic using customer mobile devices to provide a host of data on store operations and processes. 

New York — Alfred Marshall, who founded the Marshalls chain in the mid-1950s with the motto “Brand Names for Less,” died on Saturaday in Boca Raton, Fla. He was 94.

In 1976, Marshall and his partners sold the company, which consisted of 36 stores in New England and California, to the Melville Corporation. IN 1995, TJX bought Marshalls, by which time it had grown to nearly 500 locations.

New research from NPD conducted during the 2013 holiday season suggests shoppers believe better deals are to be had online than in stores.

That not good news for retailers under relentless pressure to generate store traffic with all manner of urgency oriented promotions such as the ubiquitous one-day sale or other types of limited duration activities.

Mountain View, Calif. — Coupons.com is reportedly going to acquire Yub, a provider of mobile rewards and offers that customers redeem at brick-and-mortar stores. According to the Wall Street Journal, Coupons.com will pay $30 million for Yub, and is also considering an IPO.

The case for domestic sourcing received a boost this week after Walmart was required to recall 73,400 five-piece card table and chair sets sold under its Mainstays brand.

The recall was initiated after Walmart said it received reports of 10 injuries including one instance of a finger amputation and several fingertip amputations. The product was manufactured by the Heshan Camis Industrial Co. Ltd., of Guangdong, China, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission.