Sales & Marketing

Time was in New York City that new restaurants sprang up in the ground floors of old brownstones in Midtown or tenement buildings in Greewich Village and were deemed worthy or not by the demanding standards of Manhattanites. Not so in New York’s newest neighborhood.  

The chief executive of Crate & Barrel is out after less than two years at the top.   Doug Diemoz left the home furnishings retailer last week. Most of his responsibilities will be taken over by Neela Montgomery, board chair of Otto Group, the privately owned German company that owns Crate & Barrel, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.  

A potential acquisition could give Amazon some leverage as it expands its brick-and-mortar presence.   BJ’s Wholesale Club is putting itself up for sale, and Amazon has expressed modest internal interest in the chain, according to The New York Post.  BJ’s, which was once a public company, was bought for $2.8 billion by private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners in 2011.   

Bass Pro Shops has lowered its bid for Cabela’s.   Under the amended merger agreement, Bass Pro will acquire Cabela’s for $61.50 per share in cash for a total deal value of approximately $5.0 bil-lion. On October 3, 2016, Bass Pro has agreed to pay $65.50 per share in cash for Cabela’s in a deal valued at $5.5 billion.  

Online home furnishings and decor retailer One Kings Lane is set to open its first store, a summer pop-up.   The 3,500-sq.-ft. space will be located in the upscale resort town of Southampton, New York. It will be open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, and offer an “immersive lifestyle experience,” the company said.  

To the key to omnichannel success is having access to synchronized, and up-to-date business information.   Mattress Firm is partnering with Visionet Systems to create a centralized information repository that integrates all business information across retail channels in near real-time — a move that will improve operational efficiency enterprise-wide.  

Despite privacy concerns, consumer will share data with companies if it saves them money or resolves customer service issues faster.    This was according to a recent study conducted by YouGov on behalf of customer experience company [24]|7, which tapped 1,145 U.S. consumers.   Nearly half (43%) of consumers agreed that they would exchange personal data with companies to save money through personalized promotions, discounts or deals, followed by 39% looking for speedier issue resolution. 

A new retail experience is giving shoppers — and sports fans — the chance to feel like a professional athlete.   Mizuno, one of the world’s largest specialty sporting goods manufacturers and the official baseball gear partner of the Atlanta Braves, has entered the U.S. retail arena with the opening of The Mizuno Experience Center. It is the first retail store to open at The Battery Atlanta, a 400,000 sq. ft. mixed-use development located just outside the Braves’ new home, Sun Trust Park.