Omnichannel

Scottsdale, Ariz. – JDA Software Group will release its next generation of cloud-based omnichannel and supply chain solutions on the public Google Cloud Platform. Through this collaboration, Google will provide a scalable and flexible technology platform via the cloud to support JDA’s future application development and delivery.   

By Joe Dalton    As technologies advance, social channels proliferate, and consumers become more plugged into digital marketing, personalization and contextualization is becoming the key to connecting with customers. While consumers build their online identities simply by using their devices for everything from browsing to averting traffic, they leave trails of their preferences, behavior, and values that retailers can draw upon to appeal to the interests of each individual customer.   

Troubled specialty retailer J.Crew Group Inc. says it has laid off 175 staff members and fired its chief women’s designer.

The company says the changes and business improvement initiatives will "better align with the current and future retail environment."

Fremont, Calif. — Men's Wearhouse on Thursday announced it had signed a 10-year agreement with Macy's to operate men's tuxedo rental shops inside 300 Macy’s locations. The shops are expected to be located in or near the men’s department.

Men's Wearhouse will begin operating 17 pilot tuxedo shops in fall 2015,  and expects the remaining shops to be open by fall 2016. Macy's and Men's Wearhouse will also collaborate to develop a digital tuxedo rental shop on macys.com.

Toronto, Canada – Hudson’s Bay Co. Inc. (HBC) swung a net loss of $54 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 from net earnings of $176 million in the year-ago period amid higher selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses even as as sales showed strong improvement.  

Batteries Plus Bulbs is upgrading its payment terminals and software to prepare for the EMV liability shift at its 650 U.S. locations.

The retailer says it has chosen the Ingenico Group's solution, which enables Batteries Plus Bulbs stores to securely accept magstripe debit and credit payment cards, and positions the stores to accept virtually any form of payment including EMV chip & sign, EMV chip & pin, contactless/NFC and other types of mobile wallets in the future.

The Men's Wearhouse has signed a 10-year agreement with Macy's, Inc. to operate men's tuxedo rental shops inside 300 Macy's stores.

No other terms of the agreement were disclosed.

Doug Ewert, Men's Wearhouse chief executive officer, said: "As the nation's leading provider of tuxedo rental products and services, we are very excited to team with Macy's for the next decade to provide their customers with exceptional tuxedo rental services inside of 300 Macy's stores across the country."

Technology is supposed to make our lives simpler – both as consumers and as professionals. It is technology which is bridging the gap between the store and online, between supply and demand, between consumer expectations and retailer capabilities. However, delivering simple solutions is not always easy in today’s complex and rapidly changing business world.