News Briefs

Three people were killed in what authorities say was an anti-Black hate crime on Saturday, Aug. 26, at a Dollar General store in  Jacksonville, Fla.

Three Black people were killed when a gunman wearing a tactical vest and mask and armed with an AR-15-style rifle and a Glock handgun opened fire at the store.  The victims included 19-year-old store employee Anolt Laguerre, Jr., along with  Angela Carr, 52, and Jerrald De'Shaun Gallion, 29, reported CNN. 

The gunman, identified as 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter, shot Carr as she sat in her car outside the Dollar General. He then entered the store, shooting and killing Laguerre. The gunman then exited, but returned and fatally shot Gallion.  He also chased and shot Gallion’s girlfriend, but missed.  

Police officers entered the store 11 minutes from the start of the shooting and heard one gunshot,  presumed to be when the gunman shot and killed himself.

“There is no place for hate at Dollar General or in the communities we serve,” the company said in a statement. “Right now, we are focused on providing support, counseling and resources to our teams and their loved ones, and we are evaluating how we can best support and stand with the greater Jacksonville community during this sad and difficult time.”

Palmeter had bought the guns legally. He had no criminal record, but he was was the subject of a 2017 law enforcement call under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows people to be involuntarily detained and subject to an examination for up to 72 hours during a mental health crisis, CNN reported.

 

Dollar Tree has made an addition to its executive leadership team.

 The retailer said that Jonathan Leiken has joined the company as executive VP, chief legal officer and secretary. 

Leiken, who has more than 20 years of legal experience, most recently served as executive VP, chief legal officer and secretary of global technology company Diebold Nixdorf. Prior to that, he was a partner at global law firm Jones Day and an assistant United States Attorney in the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (Criminal Division).

“Jon is a seasoned attorney and business leader with proven expertise across a number of industries, including the retail and financial sectors. said Rick Dreiling, chairman and CEO of Dollar Tree. “His credentials ranging from corporate governance and law, to regulatory compliance and commercial litigation make him uniquely suited for this role.”

Leiken holds a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brandeis University. Among many civic endeavors, he is the president of The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland and teaches as an adjunct professor of law at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

Dollar Tree operated 16,476 stores across 48 states and five Canadian provinces as of July 29, 2023. Stores operate under the brands of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree Canada. 

Lowe’s customers who work in the home improvement industry can use their mobile devices to ease in-store purchases and pick-ups.

In an email to Chain Store Age, the home improvement retailer said it is introducing purchase authorization for MVPs Pro Rewards and Partnership Program members in the Lowe’s app. Lowe’s initially launched the Lowe's MVPs Pro Rewards and Partnership Program in February 2022.

The new feature enables MVP Pro account holders to provide a QR code to a designated runner for in-store purchases and pick-ups, with set time and spending limits. Lowe’s intends to create a fast and seamless in-store checkout process, with no more credit card handoffs or confirmation phone calls needed. 

During the company’s recent second quarter 2023 earnings call, Joe McFarland, Lowe’s executive VP of stores, said that “(T)his solution addresses a pain point for many Pro customers and our Pro desk associates and leapfrogs the competition. And we're encouraged to see that our suite of online tools [has] resonated with Pros and adoption is already exceeding our expectations.” 

Lowe’s also recently expanded a same-day delivery pilot it initiated in select markets with omnichannel fulfillment solution OneRail in 2022 to all of its stores across the 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Two iconic and storied Swiss watch brands are joining forces.

In a move that caught the sector by surprise, Rolex said that it would buy luxury watch and jewelry retailer Bucherer for an undisclosed amount. In a statement, Rolex said that Bucherer, which has more than 100 stores worldwide, will keep its name and continue to operate independently under its current management team.

Rolex said it decided to buy the retailer after third-generation owner, 86-year-old Jörg Bucherer, in the absence of direct descendants to take the reins, decided to sell his company’s business.  (In 2019, Bucherer acquired acquired luxury watch brand Tourneau from an affiliate of Leonard Green & Partners.)

“This move reflects the Geneva-based brand's desire to perpetuate the success of Bucherer and preserve the close partnershp ties that have linked both companies since 1924,” Rolex said in a statement. “For more than 90 years, the two businesses have worked alongside one another and have each contributed to the other's achievements and growth.”

Fiftty-three of Bucherer stores are authorized Rolex dealers. And 48 Bucherer stores also distribute the Tudor brand, which is also owned by Rolex. Rolex itself does not operate any physical stores.

“The Rolex group is convinced that this acquisition is the best solution not only for its own brands but also for all the watch and jewelry partner brands, as well as for all the employees of the Bucherer group,” Rolex stated.

The company noted that its “fruitful collaboration” with other official retailers in its sales network will remain unchanged.

The acquisition requires the approval of Swiss competition authorities.

Hudson’s Bay is migrating its loyalty program to a cloud-based digital marketing platform.

The Canadian department store retailer, which operates 85 Hudson’s Bay stores as well as its TheBay.com digital marketplace, has signed a three-year loyalty contract with U.K.-based SaaS technology provider Eagle Eye. .

Leveraging the Eagle Eye's AIR a cloud-based intelligent digital marketing platform, Hudson's Bay plans to relaunch its digital loyalty program later in August 2023. The retailer will utilize the AIR solution to support the launch of a real-time, omnichannel loyalty program, targeting its six million loyalty members, through integration with its existing technology stack.

"We are delighted to be supporting such an iconic brand as Hudson's Bay in relaunching their loyalty program,” said Eagle Eye CEO Tim Mason. “This contract strengthens our presence in North America, a growing digital promotions market.”

Grocery retailer Giant Eagle also utilizes the Eagle Eye AIR intelligent digital marketing platform to facilitate personalized loyalty offers at scale, as well as to enable the end-to-end management of real-time personalized promotions. This enables Giant Eagle to continue to upgrade its in-store customer experience and shift away from traditionally paper-based promotional activity.

Hudson’s Bay is a banner of Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), operator of a brand portfolio including Hudson’s Bay, The Bay, Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off 5^th.

A regional Midwest convenience store chain is attempting to create a seamless omnichannel customer experience via its mobile app.

Earlier in August 2023, Kum & Go launched a new mobile app and rewards offering with support from Orium. The upgraded app leverages the Orium React Native Accelerator customer engagement solution  to combine ordering, payment, and loyalty into a unified omnichannel experience.

Leveraging the upgraded app, customers can now prepay for fuel, order customized food, browse deals, and get personalized recommendations. Members of the Kum & Go &Rewards loyalty offering can have all their transactions connected back into the program, so they can accumulate points to spend how they want.

The Kum & Go digital technology team worked with Orium to build out the accelerator, creating the foundations for mobile native composable experiences. a A composable architecture is a cloud-based collection of integrated, best-of-breed solutions that communicate with each other and act as a customized technology ecosystem.

"The new Kum & Go mobile app experience is a perfect example of how commerce, content, POS, loyalty and even fuel pumps can connect together to create incredible, truly omnichannel, customer-first experiences," said Ben Woll, Orium's VP client services. "This app truly has it all. And because it's grounded in composable commerce technologies, the customer experience will continue to evolve in tandem with the needs of the business."

Iowa-based Kum & Go, a family-owned convenience store chain which operates more than 400 stores across the Midwest and western parts of the country, is upgrading its app and loyalty experience as it undergoes expansion into new markets and acquisition by convenience store operator Maverik – Adventure’s First Stop and its parent company, FJ Management.