News

Cloud-based platform puts Jonathan Adler on fast track
A home furnishings brand is in rapid expansion mode — something that wasn’t possible five years ago.
Small retailer with devoted fans is closing its doors
A New England-based retailer that has the distinction of being the first curtain catalog company is closing up shop. Shareholders of The Fitzpatrick Companies, whose subsidiaries include Country Curtains, voted Wednesday to liquidate the 61-year-old business. Country Curtains will begin liquidating operations immediately, and a going-out-of-business sale will be launched in its 19 retail stores (and website) starting on Oct. 5. The stores will close by the end of the year.

Amazon gets bill for back taxes

The European Union has hit Amazon with a tax bill. The online giant was ordered to pay 250 million euros ($294 million) plus interest in back taxes to Luxembourg on Wednesday after the European Commission said the retailer had received illegal tax benefits. "Luxembourg gave illegal tax benefits to Amazon. As a result, almost three quarters of Amazon's profits were not taxed," Margrethe Vestager, the EU's commissioner for competition, said in a statement.
Online giant now owns a 3D body scanning startup

Amazon’s newest acquisition could give a boost to the company’s fashion category — including its growing private-label apparel business. The online giant has acquired Body Labs, a 3D scanning platform that uses artificial intelligence, computer vision, and body modeling to accurately create an avatar-like image of a customer’s dimensions. The 3D platform provider announced the news on its website.
The Profit's Marcus Lemonis launches new retail concept

A new women's apparel store has made its debut in Chicago. Marcus Lemonis Fashion Group, which is owned by Marcus Lemonis, star of CNBC hit reality series “The Profit,” CEO of Camping World and all-around retail entrepreneur, has opened Marcus, on Chicago's Gold Coast. Additional locations are expected to open within the next six months in Aspen, Col.; Hinsdale, Ill., and New York City.
Fast-growing organic grocer sets 2018 store openings

Sprouts Farmers Market is in expansion mode. Sprouts Farmers Market announced it will open nine new locations in the first quarter of 2018. In total, the natural and organics grocer will open approximately 30 new stores across the country in 2018.
Amazon reportedly pursuing partnership with European retailer

Is Amazon looking for a supermarket partner in Europe? Privately held French supermarket operator Leclerc has been approached by Amazon over possible logistics partnerships, reported Reuters. “Yes, we have been approached by Amazon,” Michel-Edouard Leclerc, who heads the company, told Reuters.
Study: Shoppers want technology that transforms — not replaces — the store experience

For many customers, the ideal digital “store of the future” will streamline payments and make it easier to pick up purchases. This was according to the “Consumer View,” a study from the National Retail Federation that tracks consumer awareness and adoption rates across a variety of retail technologies.
Survey: Retailers are missing out on a big opportunity

For all the buzz about buy-online-pickup-in-store, not that many retailers are actually deploying the service.
Home furnishings giant makes it 45

Ikea is entering new territory. The retailer will open a store on Oct. 11, in Fishers, Indiana. It will be Swedish company’s first location in Indiana, 45th in the United States, and 408th worldwide. The 289,000-sq.-ft. Ikea includes one of Indiana’s largest solar rooftops, as well as three electric vehicle charging stations. Ninety percent of Ikea U.S. stores have a solar presence.