Store Systems

Whole Foods Market is embarking on a project to teach its environmentally-minded customers that not all recycling is created equal.

The retailer announced a new partnership with Recycling Across America that aims to help reduce global waste and close the loop with the reuse of recycled materials in manufacturing.

New York -- While most retailers are shrinking their footprints, Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) is doing just the opposite, opening the nation’s largest home furnishings store. Located in the new 433-acre Grandscape mixed-use development in The Colony, Texas, the two-level store has a whopping 560,000 sq, ft. of selling space (equivalent to about nine football fields). Including its on-site warehouse, the space totals more than 1.8 million sq. ft.

By Jeff Warren

New York -- Andy Dunn, the founder of the hot online menswear retailer Bonobos, is transitioning from CEO to executive chairman. Dunn, who founded the company in 2007, has named retail veteran Francine Della Badia to serve as CEO starting June 1.

Della Badia most recently served as president of North American retail at Coach, leaving in February. She also held positions with Victoria’s Secret, J.Crew and Gap Inc.

Albertslund, Denmark -- Kvickly Supermarkets, part of Danish grocery retailer Coop Denmark, will implement Displaydata’s Chroma electronic shelf labers (ESLs) across 29 of its store locations. Coop Denmark, in partnership with Displaydata’s partner Delfi Technologies, has already implemented ESLs in more than 300 of its stores, including brands: Kvickly, SuperBrugsen, Dagli’ Brugsen and Irma.

Boston – With engaging the customer and managing the customer experience as top priorities for retailers, Boston Retail Partners’ 2015 CRM/Unified Commerce Survey indicates that 87% of retailers plan to use gamification to engage the customer within five years.

By Nader Fathi

Austin, Texas – Epicor Software Corp. is spinning off its retail solutions business into a separate, privately held company, in partnership with funds advised by Apax Partners. Referred to as “SpinCo” until the transaction is finalized, the Epicor retail solutions business continues under the leadership of Noel Goggin, executive VP and general manager.