Data & Analytics

Los Angeles-based Nasty Gal, which filed for bankruptcy protection in November, may soon have a British owner.   Boohoo.com is bidding $20 million (£16.3 million) for the brand and its customer databases as the “stalking horse” candidate. Based in Manchester, England, Boohoo specializes in fast-fashion and targets teens and young women, the same audience as Nasty Gal.      

New Seasons Market in Mercer Island, Washington, has gone platinum.    The new supermarket received EPA GreenChill Platinum Certification for its efforts in reducing refrigerant emissions (by at least 95%). The 37,000-sq.-ft. store uses a natural refrigerant solution designed for minimal greenhouse gas emissions and superior energy efficiency.   

Holiday procrastinators may have saved retailers this year.       A jump in consumer spending in the final home stretch helped to offset a slow start to the U.S. holiday shopping season, and is likely to help many retailers beat sales forecasts, Reuters reported.    

The majority of retailers managed to keep their shipping promises this holiday.   That’s according to Kurt Salmon’s annual Holiday Shipping study, which found that 97% of retailers successfully processed and delivered orders to customers on their last guaranteed shipping date before Christmas. according to Kurt Salmon’s (part of Accenture Strategy) annual Holiday Shipping study. This compares to 87% in 2014 and 95% in 2015. 

When it comes to combining in-store visits and online product research or purchase, Generation Z (ages 18 to 26) leads all other shopper age groups in the U.S., lending some spark an otherwise flat “omnishopping” environment.  

Rent the Runway’s total investment keeps growing.    The dress rental business announced it has closed on a $60 million round of funding, led by Fidelity Management and Research Company with additional money from such existing investors as Bain Capital Ventures and Highland Capital Partners. Total investment in the company now stands at $190 million.      

Nothing like doing a little shopping as presents are being unwrapped.   E-commerce traffic volume on Christmas Day shattered all previous records according to Verizon Enterprise Solutions’ Holiday Retail Index report.   The report finds that traffic continued to build into the Christmas weekend, and reached feverish pitch on Christmas Day which also coincided this year with the first full day of Hanukkah.   

As Genesco expands its business, it needs an inventory management platform that can scale just as quickly — now it has one.   The retailer and wholesaler of branded footwear, headwear and apparel initially deployed an automated retail inventory management platform, called Vision Merchandising, from Jesta in 1998. At the time, the company operated less than 500 stores, and used the system to support the firm’s exponential growth and empower users to work more efficiently.