Omnichannel

Irvine, Calif. -- Billabong International has selected a retail suite from JustEnough’s retail suite of solutions to help transform its planning and replenishment processes across all its brands worldwide.

Minneapolis -- Target wants to keep things simple.

The retailer, which has been moving to simplify its operations, is now taking a similar approach to its store identity. Starting in October, Target will begin the process of rebranding all of its CityTarget and TargetExpress stores as “Target.”

Retail is becoming an increasingly hot market for hosted cloud computing providers. Some of those providers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Aliyun cloud division of Alibaba, are operated by retailers.

Eliminating the multiple nameplates under which Target operates various store types is Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell’s latest move to simplify the retailer’s operations and identity.

“Now Trending” is a new exclusive online series to chainstoreage.com, featuring trending topics that impact the retail real estate landscape.

In recent years, a very old practice has gotten some new attention: design is once again ascendant in the world of commercial development.

While design never went away, of course, the degree to which great design is being prioritized, cultivated and integrated into the development of memorable spaces and places is noteworthy.

San Francisco -- Gensler announced that Jim Crawford has joined its lifestyle team as director of strategy and experience design. Crawford most recently served as chief experience officer at Chute Gerdeman, where he was responsible for integrating technology into award-winning store and experience design projects.

At Gensler, Crawford will utilize skills to enhance the firm’s practice and work with clients in multiple industries connecting digital and physical design with business and consumer objectives.
 

Woonsocket, R.I. -- CVS Health is showing no signs of slowing down.

The company reported that its second-quarter net income rose 2.1% to $1.27 billion. Adjusted earnings came to $1.22 per share, beating Zacks Investment Research analyst consensus of $1.20 per share.
 
Net revenues rose 7.4% to $37.2 billion.
 

Macy's and Bloomingdales are racing to join other retailers that are turning their stores into mini-fulfillment centers in an effort to challenge Amazon.com.

The department store company announced it is expanding same-day delivery service to nine additional markets beginning this month. Both Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s are partnering with third-party delivery service Deliv to offer same-day delivery on products purchased online at macys.com, Bloomingdales.com, and on both brands’ mobile-enabled websites.