News

Iconic San Francisco jeweler opens luxury flagship
The 165-year-old Shreve & Co. has opened a flagship in its San Francisco home town. The two-level, 15,000-sq.-ft. store is Shreve's first new, permanent location in 110 years and features a modern, luxurious design. The centerpiece is a dramatic, free-floated, elongated semi-spiral staircase that offers sweeping views of the store. A waterfall chandelier of lights and crystals is suspended inside the arch of the stairway. A cascade of crystals and lights hangs from the 30-foot ceiling.
Homes good retailer files for bankruptcy — again
Gracious Home has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, its second filing in six years. In its filing, the 53-year-old retailer, which operates stores in New York City, said “there is a viable business remaining, albeit on a smaller scale.” Gracious Home previously filed for Chapter in August 2010, citing a sales decline due to the 2008 financial crisis.

Beauty retailer on fast track

The fast-growing NYX Cosmetics has opened a store at Brea Mall, Brea, California. The Los Angeles-based cosmetics brand opened its first brick-and-mortar location in 2015. It currently operate 23 locations throughout the United States. Menemsha Solutions provided both architecture and construction for the new store.
First Look: Rent the Runway opens digitally-enhanced flagship
eBay unwraps holiday shopping habits

As the holiday shopping season enters the home stretch, it’s brand’s last chance to deliver the categories shoppers need to complete their gift purchases.
Walmart unveils prize-linked savings program

Walmart has added to its financial service offerings with a new savings program. The program, called “Prize Savers,” is a prize-linked savings incentive program available to holders of Walmart MoneyCard, the chain’s branded reloadable pre-paid debit cards, the Associated Press reported.
Pier I tops Street

Pier 1 Imports Inc. reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter amid strong online sales. The home decor retailer said it is still looking for a CEO to succeed Alex Smith, who steps down at year-end. It appointed company chairman Terry London to fill in as interim president and CEO, effective Jan. 1.
Best Buy unveils two-day free holiday shipping

Best Buy pulled out its latest weapon in the battle to win last-minute holiday shoppers: free shipping. For the third year in a row, Best Buy will offer free expedited shipping in the final stretch of the holiday season. Starting Thursday, Dec. 15 through 11:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Dec. 21, BestBuy’s online shoppers will automatically have their shipping upgraded to two-day shipping on almost everything.
Rent-A-Center taps Walmart tech exec for new role

Rent-A-Center has appointed Lety Nettles to fill the newly created position of VP of digital integration. Most recently she served as a technology executive designing integration framework and change practices for Walmart.
Report reveals digital best practices

Digital touchpoints are accelerating the pace of retail from all perspec-tives, including consumer demands. A new report from digital benchmarking firm L2 identifies "must-have" omnichannel features that retailers can deploy to meet rising consumer expectations. The study evaluates the approach and performance of 96 re-tail brands with regards to key omnichannel pre-requisites.
Citi and PayPal join forces

Digital payments are getting a boost through a new partnership. A strategic agreement between Citi and PayPal will enable Citi cardmembers to use their credit cards with PayPal seamlessly online, in-app or in-store in 2017. The agreement makes Citi the first global bank to partner with PayPal and tokenize cards for customers that want to use PayPal for in-store purchases, across Mastercard and Visa portfolios in the U.S.
Five Reasons Social Retailing Will Explode in 2017

For a long time, social wasn’t a closed-loop system; but with the shift of e-commerce to mobile-first, brands can now use the data and features of social media to create hyper-personalized connections that get users to buy. And as a result, retailers can better track in-channel purchases, as well as multi-touch attribution.