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RANDOM NOTES: The North Face unveiled a new store pilot — complete with a Redwood tree — at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, Calif. The 6,500-sq.-ft. store combines the best of digital in-store technology with features that speak to the locale and the brand’s DNA. Highlights include interior digital “sky windows” that feature artistic, atmospheric content. At the heart of the store stands a reinvented, salvaged Redwood tree. ...

From convenient access to reduced heating costs, automatic doors provide retailers with some key benefits.

There is substantial funding available to reduce the cost of upgrading existing lighting systems, but it takes some preparation. Here are some tips:

About two-thirds (64%) of the United States is covered by prescriptive lighting rebates, according to BriteSwitch, a rebate fulfillment company. These rebates can significantly reduce the installed cost of new lighting in existing buildings and improve payback by 20% to 25%, which would reduce a two-year payback to about 1.5 years.

How businesses should respond to the new rule

In May, the Department of Labor unveiled new overtime regulations. The biggest change — and the one that will impact retailers the most — is the nearly doubling of the salary threshold that entitles most salaried workers to overtime pay from $23,660 to $47,476, which is based upon the 40th percentile of the lowest-wage region, the South. The previous cutoff was set back in 2004.

Chain Store Age spoke with Vikas Aron, director of product management for Manhattan Associates, about how the store has become a vital point in the modern supply chain.

How does having an accurate view of store-level inventory enable effective omnichannel fulfillment?

More and more retailers are leveraging their physical locations as fulfillment centers, with store associates acting not only as sales clerks but also as fulfillment specialists. The advantages of handling fulfillment from the store are many.

While Tractor Supply Co. broadly applies advanced analytics across the enterprise, BJ’s Wholesale Club is using analytics as a point solution.

Looking to offer a more targeted and competitively priced assortment, BJ’s is rolling out the price suite from merchandise optimization technology provider Revionics. The technology will help improve customer-centric prices while taking the competitive landscape into account.

Tractor Supply Co. supports expansion with science

Today, when it comes to adding new members to your board of directors, creating a balance between industry experience and innovation is extraordinarily important. Filling board seats with industry veterans and compliance experts may feel comfortable in the short term, but to adapt to today’s savvy and demanding consumer, companies must be more forward thinking.

We’ve all witnessed the recent evolution of the C-suite — companies bringing in new, young talent, often from other industries, to modernize a brand, enhance the store experience or to leverage technology.

Jeff Rubin, founder and CEO of It’Sugar, has always had a sweet tooth — and a passion for retail. Both are in his DNA. His father owned a chain of toy stores in the Midwest. After leaving the toy business, he went on to open a chain of bulk candy stores. Rubin worked on Wall Street for a while before returning home to help run the candy chain. In 1994, he left to go out on his own. He’s been on an upward trajectory since.

Experts credit Rubin with breathing new life into the candy store format.