Sales & Marketing

By Alan Gettelman and Richard Duncan

It’s a fact: Safety awareness and accessibility compliance translates into ease of use for all customers. The Americans with Disability Act Accessibility Standards (ADAS) and ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials) requirements not only make store spaces accessible, but should also help owners/operators avoid complaints and possible penalties.

Here are some key points:

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. said it plans to close up to 1,100 stores, approximately one-fifth of its total, and also announced a disappointing holiday season and a wider quarterly loss. The shutterings will leave the chain, whose turnaround appears to be still far off, with over 4,000 locations, including more than 900 dealer franchise locations.

Lowe's has named Michael A. Jones as the company's chief customer officer, effective April 30. Jones currently serves as Lowe's chief merchandising officer, overseeing the full merchandise offering for all Lowe's U.S. stores and Lowes.com, as well as all global sourcing activities.  

Jones will succeed Gregory M. Bridgeford, who plans to retire after 32 years with the company.

In his new role, Jones will be responsible for overseeing customer experience design, merchandising, marketing and communications and digital interfaces.

As a category of shopping center, open-air centers have been evolving ever since the days they were called lifestyle centers. New categories of tenants have evolved, along with new ways of creating compelling tenant mixes and environments. We asked three open-air owners to tell us about current and possible future directions that evolution may take.

The companies are San Diego-based American Assets Trust; Irvine Co. Retail Properties in Irvine, Calif.; and Columbus, Ohio-based Glimcher Realty Trust. Here’s what they had to say.

Boston -- Online retailer Wayfair has added 170,000 sq. ft. to its lease with Simon Property Group at The Offices at Copley Place in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. In anticipation of a June 2014 relocation, the additional space brings Wayfair's new office space to a total footprint of 275,000 sq. ft.

A 19% fourth-quarter same-store sales decline and a steep decline in profitability prompted RadioShack to announce the closure of 1,100 stores while CEO Joseph Magnacca maintained the retailer’s brand equity remains strong and a profitability plan is in place.

By Mark Ledbetter, Global VP Retail Strategy, SAP

The changing nature of retail combined with an ever-greater reliance on data is forcing retailers to adjust their workforce and employee skill sets accordingly. From a customer experience standpoint, most retailers are transitioning to a brick-and-click model that aims to ensure customers have a seamless shopping experience regardless of which channel they use.

Think brick-and-mortar retail is doomed in an increasingly digital world? Visit Sephora, where consumers line up to sample the dizzying array of beauty products. Watch as a bunch of excited kids go through the rounds at Build-A-Bear-Workshop. Listen as a pharmacist at Walgreens gives some advice to a harried mom whose kids are coming down with something. Stop in at H-E-B, Whole Foods Market or some other great supermarket and breathe in the tantalizing aromas. Fool around with the latest gadgets at Apple or one of the new generation of AT&T and Verizon stores.