Store Systems

It’s going to be a busy spring for Stein Mart.   The Florida-based chain will open five stores this spring –– the first phase of its 2017 store plan to open a total of 11 new stores. The remainder of the locations will open in the fall.    “These new stores fall within our real estate strategy to grow sales by filling existing markets where we are doing well,” said Hunt Hawkins, CEO of Stein Mart, which operates 290 stores.   

Nordstrom announced the second Big Apple location for its off-price division.   Nordstrom Rack will open at Durst Organization's mixed-use building at 855 Sixth Avenue.    The approximately 46,500-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2017. It occupy the first three floors of the newly constructed office/residential tower. The location is on the corner of 31st Street, two blocks from Herald Square.  

Each moment, it seems, something new emerges to compete for our attention. Our desktop browsers manage dozens of tabs simultaneously, even though we can only process the information contained on those pages one tab at a time. Our phones ping away, constantly keeping us connected to an infinite virtual world.    

Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is getting its stores on the same page.   The convenience and fuel chain, which operates more than 400 locations in 40 states, employs more than 17,000 people. By adding Reflexis Workforce Manager, it will have a consistent way to manage its budgeting, forecasting, and labor scheduling across the enterprise.   

Despite an earlier report to the contrary, Walmart is not combining its online and store buying functions.   Reuters had reported that the discounter was combining its online and store buying operations as it moves to make itself more competitive with Amazon. The report was picked up by numerous media outlets.   Based on information from Walmart, however, the chain is not merging the stores and walmart.com buying teams. The two will continue to operate as two separate teams.  

Disappointing shopping experiences are costing brick-and-mortar retailers serious money.   Stores left about $150 billion in potential revenue on the table in 2016 by failing to offer shoppers personalized in-store shopping experiences. Shoppers would increase their in-store spending by 4.7% — if they received better, more personalized service from retailers.   

For years, retail was neatly divided into two categories: e-commerce and brick-and-mortar. But with the advent of smartphones, digital and physical worlds are melding together, creating a new retail environment in which almost every customer journey involves both online and offline activity. This is particularly true for Generation Z consumers, the first generation to have grown up with digital technologies at their fingertips and who now make up 25% of the total U.S. population.  

Sunglass Hut is making a strategic move to evolve its brick-and-mortar experience.   The sunglass retailer has added a a cloud-based merchandising system across its stores in Australia and New Zealand that helps each store localize and personalize its product mixes to create a shopping experience that feels custom-tailored.