News

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is publicly supporting a tax reform proposal released today by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas.  

Japanese specialty apparel retailer Uniqlo is expanding its U.S. presence into the Southeast, and is also expanding its relationship with Disney.    The company will open a two-level, 25,000-sq.-ft. store on July 15 in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It will be Uniqlo’s first location in the Southeast.   

Michael O’Hanlon, who has been an executive with Wayfair Inc. for a decade, is transitioning to a new role with the company.   O’Hanlon has been named VP of government and industry relations. Previously Wayfair’s VP of corporate and business development since September 2006, O’Hanlon will now spearhead government relations strategy and ongoing collaboration with legislators, policymakers, regulators and other industry leaders at the federal, state and local levels.  

Every seven seconds, a Baby Boomer turns 50. Boomers represent a substantial and critical employee demographic for retailers. The retail trade industry in the U.S. employs 15 million people, or nearly 10% of the workforce, and approximately 38% of this workforce is over the age of 50.   

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Wayfair Next innovation lab at Wayfair’s downtown Boston headquarters.   My genial hosts, Wayfair co-founder Steven Conine and Wayfair Next director Mike Festa, explained the lab’s mission and let me demo some very cool technologies.  

Many kids are just starting their summer vacations, but back-to-school shopping is well underway.  

Nordstrom  plans to shutter its location at Horton Plaza, in downtown San Diego.  The store, which opened in 1985, will remain open through August 26, 2016.   "These are always tough decisions to make, but in taking a look at the store's performance and our business needs into the future, we believe this is the best direction to take," said Jamie Nordstrom, president of stores for Nordstrom. "We look forward to serving our loyal Horton Plaza customers at our other San Diego stores.”  

Watch out Best Buy, the nation’s largest ecommerce retailer is on your tail.   According to a report by barrons.com, Amazon has moved ahead of Walmart to take the number two spot, behind Best Buy, as the nation’s largest electronics retailer.    

J.C. Penney announced a positive development on the financial front.   The department store retailer announced it has successfully completed refinancing its $2.25 billion five-year senior secured term loans, which should generate about $24 million in interest expense savings.  

Malls and outdoor centers are increasingly seeking out small and local merchants to help them stand out from the competition.   Kimco, for example,  has expanded a program that offers small businesses one year of free rent and reduced property charges, CNBC reported.  Originally started in California four years ago, the program has since been expanded to centers in 19 states.