News

Trending Stores: REI, Washington, D.C.
REI has opened it largest location on the East Coast, a 51,000-sq.ft. flagship in Washington, D.C. The store is designed to offer members of the outdoor community a place to meet and plan adventures — and shop for outdoor gear. It includes such features as a 1,052-sq.-ft. cafe, outdoor courtyard with a fire pit and tables, and a community space that offers a robust schedule of free and low-cost classes in-store classes for cycling, paddling, fitness, hiking and camping, climbing, snow sports, photography and wilderness medicine.
Lowe’s appoints new customer experience leader
To bolster its omnichannel efforts, Lowe’s promoted Michael McDermott to chief customer officer. McDermott, who currently serves as Lowe's chief merchandising officer, will be responsible for creating experiences that best serve customers and differentiate Lowe's in an omnichannel environment. This includes lead-ing strategies, customer insights, customer experience design and market-ing.

It’s anchors aweigh at PREIT in strategic repositioning

PREIT’s stated strategic shift to pack its portfolio with more relevant anchors is moving ahead at full steam. At its Cumberland Mall in New Jersey this month, Dick’s Sporting Goods opened in a 50,000-sq.-ft. space vacated by J.C. Penney. In December, another former Penney’s space will debut as a Round One Entertainment location, and being readied for 2017 openings at other PREIT malls are Home Goods and Field & Stream stores, a Whole Foods Market, and a Legoland Discovery Center.
Reviews-only site opens brick-and-mortar concept

Sleepsherpa.com, an online sleep resource that offers reviews of mattresses, bedding, pillows and sleep devices, has entered the physical space. The company has opened a mattress showroom in Edina, Minn., that allows customers to try out a selection of the online-only mattress brands that have sprung up the past few years and disrupted the traditional mattress-buying model by offering generous trial periods and low pricing.
AutoNation to open new format, sell auto parts

The nation’s largest auto dealership chain is expanding its brand into new areas of the automotive retail sector. AutoNation announced it will debut a new format, a standalone concept called AutoNation USA, that will be dedicated to used-car sales and also serve as service centers, offering scheduled maintenance and repair work along with express service. The company has identified 25 sites to launch the concept, with five expected to open in 2017.
Office Depot launches early Black Friday deals

Office Depot is giving holiday shoppers almost a month-long head start on the season. The office supplies company is kicking off Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals on Oct. 30 — a move that it anticipates will save its loyal shoppers time and money this holiday season. Deals will be available at stores, as well as on the Office Depot’s website.
Amazon Q3 earnings jump, but still miss mark

Despite gains in the third quarter, Amazon’s stock fell 6% in extended trading. The pure-play retailer’s net sales increased 29% to $32.7 billion for the third quarter ending Sept. 30, 2016, compared with $25.4 billion in third quarter 2015. The company credits the jump to $52 million in year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter.
Carter’s hits ‘record sales’ in Q3

Based on its third quarter earnings, Carter’s predicts that is on its way to its 28th consecutive year of sales growth. The brand specializing in babies and young children’s apparel and accessories reported a net sales increase of 6.1%, totaling $901.4 million. The company credits this growth on its U.S. Carter’s and OshKosh retail businesses, Carter’s wholesale business, and international segment.
Adobe: Holiday online sales could hit record-breaking $91 billion

An extended holiday season could translate into an 11% increase in online sales with mobile devices leading the charge. Adobe’s “2016 Digital Insights Shopping Predictions” report predicts that 53 consecutive days (57 calendar days in total) will exceed $1 billion in online sales, compared to 31 consecutive days last year — a 71% year-over-year (YoY) increase.
Report: Holiday shoppers waiting until post-election

The upcoming United States presidential election is so tumultuous that it’s influencing shoppers to pull back holiday shopping plans. With the election falling in the middle of holiday shopping, many U.S. consumers said they will have a more conservative holiday spending budget this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual consumer spending survey, a report that tapped 7,733 consumers about holiday shopping plans.
Boot Barn Q2 earnings meet the Street

Boot Barn’s second quarter performance rose slightly, meeting Wall Street estimates. The western-influenced specialty retailer reported $134 million in revenue for the second quarter ending Sept. 24, 2016, a 3.3% increase from $129.7 million in the prior-year period. This jump also exceeded Wall Street’s estimate of $131.61 million. Boot Barn credited the increase to 13 new stores opened over the past 12 months, and a 1.8% increase in same-store sales. Two of those stores opened the chain during the second quarter.
Boot Barn Q2 earnings meet the Street

Boot Barn’s second quarter performance rose slightly, meeting Wall Street estimates. The western-influenced specialty retailer reported $134 million in revenue for the second quarter ending Sept. 24, 2016, a 3.3% increase from $129.7 million in the prior-year period. This jump also exceeded Wall Street’s estimate of $131.61 million. Boot Barn credited the increase to 13 new stores opened over the past 12 months, and a 1.8% increase in same-store sales. Two of those stores opened the chain during the second quarter.