Sales & Marketing

Rue La La is embarking on a cross-border journey.   Pure-play retailer Rue La La is going international.    The retailer is expanding its reach to members in 219 countries and territories.    By utilizing the Borderfree Retail Platform from Pitney Bowes, the brand can now support a seamless shopping experience internationally, from leveraging local currency to accessing available local shipping services, regardless of where the member is located.

Walmart is making a bold move in the competitive on-demand digital content marketplace.   Leveraging its free, premium video streaming service called Vudu, the retail behemoth now features “Vudu Movies on Us,” a program that offers customers the ability to watch “thousands of movie and TV titles for free, and on-demand, with limited commercials,” according to a company statement.  

As omnichannel retailing becomes mission-critical, Performance Bicycle is making bold moves to merge its physical and digital experiences.  

Alliance Data’s card services business has renewed its agreement with Restoration Hardware.   Alliance signed a long-term renewal agreement to provide private label credit services for the luxury home furnishings retailer.       

The new retail is here and a sector that is definitely feeling the wave of this reality is the grocery industry. With the strong penetration of Aldi, Amazon’s move into online grocery, Wal-Mart’s purchase of Jet.com and the dreaded arrival in the U.S. of the highly competitive German grocery store Lidl, it’s no wonder grocers are fighting for survival in this ever-changing, highly saturated environment.   

Lidl, the German no-frills grocery chain, is shaping up as a potential retail powerhouse even before it opens its first U.S. store.   The company will generate $8.8 billion in sales by 2023, larger than Wegman’s 2016 value of $8.1 billion, according to a just-released forecast by Kantar Retail.  

Stater Bros. continues to grow its footprint in Southern California.   The San Bernardino, California-based company announced that the Ralphs Supermarket in Riverside (California) will be converted to a “Blue Ribbon” Stater Bros. supermarket. (Stater’s “Blue Ribbon” units are energy efficient and environmentally friendly.)   At 46,000-sq.-ft., the Riverside store will undergo an extensive remodel, and reopen under the Stater banner in spring 2017.  

Political feelings aside, the fact remains: When Hillary Rodham Clinton was nominated as our nation’s first official female presidential candidate, history was made. It sets a tone for all going forward — women can achieve anything they have the determination to pursue, regardless of the industry.