News

With most of the business community absorbed in the quadrennial D.C. parlor game of parsing cabinet picks and what they might mean for their industry's agenda going forward, little attention has been paid to what lies ahead for the labor community.  

Amazon Prime is transitioning mobile commerce to the big screen — the television screen, that is.   A new Apple TV application called “Amazon App: Browse, Search and Shop” enables Prime members to browse, search and buy products on Amazon’s site directly through Apple TV, Techcrunch.com reported.   

Still on the hunt for a new chief executive, Pier 1 Imports has tapped its chairman to serve in the role on an interim basis.     The home furnishings and décor retailer has appointed Terry E. London, chairman of the board, to the position of interim president and CEO. His appointment takes effect on January 1, 2017, in conjunction with the planned departure of Alex W. Smith, the current president and CEO of Pier I, on December 31, 2016.  

The start of the holiday shopping season did not bring with it a big jump in retail sales.        Retail sales, excluding automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, increased 0.1% in November, according to the National Retail Federation, less than many analysts had expected.       

PetSmart continues to grow its store portfolio — and is also testing new formats.    The chain opened 20 stores across the U.S. and Canada for the quarter ending October 31, 2016. This adds to the 23 stores it opened in the first and second quarters, bringing the total number for the year to 43 new locations.   

The past year brought with it seismic shifts as the retail industry continued to adapt to the evolving digital landscape and changing shopping habits. It also brought with it a changing of the guard, as many companies anointed new leaders to steer their ships in a transformed marketplace.    Here are six newly arrived (or soon to arrive) CEOs to keep an eye on in 2017:    Jeff Gennette, Macy’s Inc.

Amazon Prime Video just made a massive move expanding its global reach.   The pure play’s video streaming service is now available in 200 countries, including The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany Austria, France, Canada, Japan, and other major markets, including India — a move that allows it go toe-to-toe with its biggest streaming competitor, Netflix.   

Thirteen minutes — that’s all it took from the time the customer clicked “order” on Amazon to when the package was delivered in the first official legal delivery of the Internet giant’s PrimeAir drone delivery service in rural England.    

The good vibes, as well as the negative rumblings, that percolate through big events are an annual check on the pulse of an industry. In the case of retail real estate, I am happy to report that the positives seemed to outweigh the negatives at ICSC’s Deal Making show in New York last week.   Let’s start with the good stuff.  

Tilly’s is making a bold move in driving omnichannel experiences in-store.   Armed with Aptos’ cloud-based Singular Commerce platform, the teen apparel retailer can now integrate all omnichannel operations and data at store-level, giving users one complete view of customers, inventory, orders, and the customer’s overall path-to-purchase.