Data & Analytics

A lawsuit accusing a natural-foods grocer of overcharging customers has been revived.   On Friday, June 2, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City ordered Whole Foods Market to face a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing it of overcharging shoppers in New York City. The suit claims the chain overstated the weight of pre-packaged food in its supermarkets, according to Reuters.  

Gymboree Corp. could be filing Chapter 11 sooner than expected.   Struggling to manage its debt and churn a profit, Gymboree missed an interest payment due June 1, for its outstanding 9.125% senior notes due 2018. The missed payment was reported in a filing on Thursday, June 1, by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to CNBC.   

For the second time in less than three years, Kmart was hit by a malicious hack.   On Wednesday, May 31, Kmart’s parent company, Sears Holdings revealed that the chain was the victim of a security incident. The company became aware of the attack, which involved unauthorized credit card activity, following certain customer purchases made at some of its Kmart stores. Shoppers were alerted to the breach via email Wednesday evening.   

Despite a rough first fiscal quarter, Express remains committed to its ongoing plan to manage costs, optimize its store fleet and improve profitability.   For the quarter ended April 29, the specialty apparel retailer posted a net loss of $4.5 million, or $0.06 per share. This included a net negative $0.03 per share impact related to certain discrete tax items and the exit of Canada.   

Amazon’s newest win aims to further improve how it delivers packages.   The online giant won a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on May 30, for an “aerial package delivery system.” While Amazon is no stranger to using drones, the company’s newest air-based endeavor raises the bar another notch.  

While the industry continues to explore how to leverage virtual reality, Walmart is embracing the technology in a big way.   The retail giant will be adding VR-based instruction at its 200 Walmart Academy training centers in the United States by the end of the year. The technology will be used to educate approximately 140,000 employees that go through the program each year, according to Walmart.  

Peloton, a four-year-old startup that sells exercise bikes tied to a live-streamed workout experience, is revving up for expansion armed with fresh capital.   The company announced it has recently closed a $325 million series E financing round, which brings its total valuation to $1.25 billion. The round was led by Wellington Management, Fidelity Investments, Kleiner Perkins, and True Ventures. Other significant investors in this round included Comcast NBCUniversal, GGV Capital, Balyasny, and QuestMark.  

Yes, it’s official. The robotics revolution is coming to retail, as it is in many industries. I know robots roaming store aisles probably still sounds like something from “Back to the Future,” however, within a decade, I’m confident they will be such a normal part of the store experience we will find it hard to imagine life without them.  

E-commerce fraud as a percent of sales dollars may be on the decline, however losses still account for billions of dollars.   This was according to the “Q1 2017 Global Fraud Index,” a report from Pymnts.com and Signifyd. The study measures and benchmarks innovations and trends that are reshaping the payments and commerce ecosystem.  

The parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins has ended its hunt for a new chief financial officer.    Following a comprehensive search for a permanent CFO, Dunkin’ Brands has promoted Kate Jaspon to the position, effective June 5, 2017. Jaspon was appointed the company’s interim CFO when Paul Carbone left the position in April to become COO at a specialty retail chain. She will report directly to Dunkin' Brands' CEO Nigel Travis.