Sales & Marketing

Though it’s been months since the West Coast port disputes were in the headlines, retailers are still struggling to return inventory levels back to normal after the incident and an abnormally long, cold winter resulted in serious supply chain and inventory disruptions.

The pervasiveness of smartphones is making this back-to-school season the most technology-influenced ever, and a new study from Synchrony Financial provides fresh insight on the impact digital tools are having.

Germantown, Tenn. - Trademark Property Co. has broken ground on the second phase of redevelopment at its Saddle Creek shopping center in Germantown, Tennessee, focusing on enhancements to the north side of the property. Combined with the initial phase, which is nearing completion, the redevelopment efforts will add approximately 25,000 sq. ft. of new retail space to the property.

Retailers tend to be at their charitable best during key seasonal periods and that’s been the case with Office Depot and back-to-school season for the past 15 years.

Boston – The increasingly crowded digital payment field will soon have a new player. According to Bloomberg, the retailer-backed Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) is preparing to launch a trial of its CurrentC digital payment solution in stores.

CVS is taking steps to expand its offerings in the highly lucrative beauty category with three new collections.

Seattle - Starbucks Corp. is looking to increase its corporate ownership stake. The retailer has authorized the repurchase of an additional 50 million shares of the company's common stock under its ongoing share repurchase program.

This authorization has no expiration date and is in addition to the 11 million shares that remained available for repurchase as of June 28, 2015 under an existing authorization.

West Elm plans to open a 10,000-square-foot shop in one of the most up and comng urban centers in the South.

The store will open with West Elm’s fall 2015 product assortment, a suite of complimentary design services and feature crafted goods by nine local artists and makers as part of West Elm’s “Local” initiative. The new store is expected to bring an estimated 25-30 jobs to the Charleston community.