News Briefs

JCPenney is touting its stores as a value-based, one-stop shopping destination for back to school.

The department store retailer’s seasonal offerings include haircuts for students and teachers at JCPenney Salons with prices starting at $12. The promotion runs through Sept.19. (Also through Sept. 19, teachers also can get an extra 10% off on their purchases.)

In other back-to-school deals and kicking off on Aug. 2 and running through Aug. 27, Penney is featuring kid’s and teens’ essentials under its Price Lock program, which locks in discounted prices on key clothing and footwear items. This year’s lineup includes  $6 tees, shorts and leggings, $8 Izod polos and $14 denim and kids’ casual shoes.

The company is also bringing back its “Really Big Deals “ promotion, which drops new “unreal” deals every weekend from Friday through Sunday. It runs Aug. 7 through Sept. 7.

[READ MORE: JCPenney offers shopping discount tied to gas receipts]

This year's back to school season comes as multiple surveys confirm that shoppers are focused on price over brand loyalty. 

JCPenney, part of Catalyst Brands, operates more than 650 stores in the United States and Canada.

While senior retail technology executives recognize the value of artificial intelligence, they also view it as a source of potential threats.

Half of senior IT and networking leaders surveyed by Cisco for the study “Retail in the Age of AI” are actively upgrading their campus and branch network infrastructure to handle the capacity demands of AI. And three-in-four (76%) respondents agree that delays in modernization put their AI initiatives at risk, while 46% cite bandwidth and capacity demands as their top AI-driven campus and branch network challenge.

More than seven-in-10 (72%) respondents say their ability to meet customer expectations is at risk if their networks cannot support AI and 71% agree that failure to modernize could mean missed business opportunities such as revenue, loyalty, and market share.

In addition, 68% of respondents say that operational efficiency is at risk without AI-capable infrastructure and 62% say falling behind competitors leveraging AI more effectively is a real and growing risk

AI security issues

The survey also examined how AI is impacting retail network security efforts. Almost half (48%) of respondents cite keeping the network secure as their top operational challenge. 

Close to eight-in-10 (78%) respondents report that AI has significantly expanded their attack surface in the last year. Almost seven-oin-10 (68%) say AI workloads have introduced new blind spots in security monitoring and 67% say the distributed nature of AI makes it harder to maintain consistent security policies.

[READ MORE: KPMG: Cybersecurity spending rises as attacks increase]

Given these findings, it is not surprising that 85% of respondents have implemented additional security controls specifically for AI workloads. However, 68% say threats are evolving faster than their ability to adapt

Cisco surveyed 292 senior IT and networking leaders in the retail sector as part of a larger survey of 3,400 technology executives.

The European Union’s latest move to reduce waste and promote sustainability targets the excess stock and customer returns that are destroyed or sent to landfills every year. 

The 27-member EU has passed a new rule — Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation — that prohibits large companies with more than 250 employees and over €50 million (approximately $57 million as of July 20) in net annual turnover from destroying or sending to landfills unsold clothing, accessories and footwear. The regulation, which took effect July 19, will be extended to medium-sized firms in 2030.

While the ban will impact brands across the board in the EU, its impact is expected to pose a particular dilemma for luxury fashion groups such as Chanel and Prada as it removes one their least visible tools for keeping their products desirable by maintaining their scarcity, according to a report by Financial Times.

“The new rule will force brands to choose between carrying higher inventory costs, expanding tightly controlled discount channels or producing fewer goods in the first place,” the report said.

The new ban aims to encourage donation, repair and reuse. Unsold and returned items can only be destroyed when items are unsafe, damaged, counterfeit or rejected by charities, according to a post on the European Commission’s website. Businesses who cite these exemptions must provide proof (e.g. documents or test results) and publish annual reports on what they have discarded. 

A gifting platform is directly linking to a leading next-gen artificial intelligence engine.

MyRegistry.com, which calls itself a “universal gifting platform,” is launching a new plug-in for the OpenAI generative AI model ChatGPT. The plug-in is designed to support both MyRegistry.com members and their friends and family. 

In member mode, users can authorize the plugin using their MyRegistry.com credentials and then leverage ChatGPT to find gifts they want and add them directly to their registries and gift lists. Instead of navigating menus, users can give a conversational prompt such as, 'Find me a white noise machine and add it to my baby registry'. 

Both members and visitors can search for gift lists and registries by name, find gifts they want to purchase, and complete the purchase experience seamlessly using ChatGPT. MyRegistry.com combines items from any store worldwide into one registry and/or gift list. 

[READ MORE: MyRegistry.com, Men's Wearhouse partner for gift lists]

The platform’s sync capability allows seamless integration of existing store registries, keeps gifts organized while preserving the benefits and perks of retailer-specific registries. MyRegistry.com says that gift lists can drive sales, enhance customer engagement, and provide valuable insights into consumer preferences for retailers. Meanwhile, partner retailers can anticipate demand, tailor marketing efforts, and create a more personalized shopping experience by allowing customers to curate their ideal lists of products, according to the platform.

"We're aggressively expanding the ways we make gift giving and registry creation easier, more helpful, and more personalized," said Nancy Lee, president of MyRegistry.com "Our new plugin in ChatGPT gives users a natural, intuitive way to find the gifts they want, add them to their registry, search for registries, and shop for others all in one experience."

A North Carolina-born fried chicken chain has touched down in a major new market.

Bojangles has made its debut in Arizona with a new location in Gilbert, the fourth-largest city in the state and part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Bojangles now operates more than 880 company-owned and franchised restaurants in 24 states.

The chain’s first location in the Copper State is just its latest entry in a new market. This year, Bojangles has made its debut in New York City, Oklahoma and Michigan, while expanding its footprint with new locations in Texas, Ohio, Louisiana, New Jersey and more.

"We are ecstatic to introduce Bojangles to the Valley of the Sun and bring our unique Southern charm to the Phoenix market,” said Jeanette Davis, senior VP of LV Petroleum, the convenience and quick-serve chain operator behind the new Bojangles. "Our recent expansions into markets have been met with tremendous enthusiasm, and we are confident that the community will embrace our delicious offerings with the same excitement."

[READ MORE: Bojangles debuts electric vehicle charging station]

Founded in 1977, Bojangles is known for its seasoned hand-breaded chicken, scratch-made biscuits, sweet tea and Southern side dishes.

Walmart continues to remake its leadership team under CEO John Furner, who took the reins of the company in February.

Kinnard will continue serving as chair on the board for Walmart de México y Centroamérica. Juan Galarraga has been promoted to executive VP and regional general manager for the Latin America business in Walmart International, according to the report.