News

In what could be termed a gift for customers, major retailers generally improved how they engaged and served consumers in different channels during the 2015 holiday season.

It’s a shame (or maybe a good thing) Hemingway and Bukowski did not live in an age where a vast assortment of alcohol is available a click away.

Omnichannel beer/wine/liquor delivery service Drizly is launching a new service that provides digital drinkers with a product selection far beyond the scope of local stores. Currently available in Boston and Washington, D.C., Drizly Connect lets users shop across tens of thousands of beer, wine and spirits products for next-day delivery orders.

The Store of the Year, ShopWithMe (photo above), and all the other winning projects in the Retail Design Institute’s 45th annual International Store Design Competition are highlighted in this special report from Chain Store Age.

Download it here.

The Limited has entered the fast-growing value retail sector.

Moving under the radar, The Limited has quietly debuted a new store concept, called Backroom at the Limited, in six malls across the nation.

The format offers a mix of work-to-weekend apparel, jewelry and accessories, with the merchandise made exclusively for the Backroom as well as the Limited’s outlet stores.

Photo: Matt Chasen, CEO, uShip

Slow traffic at its California stores proved a drag for Costco Wholesale Corp. in April.

The retailer reported flat same-store sales in April, below analysts’ estimates of a 1.2% increase.

Total sales in April rose 3% to $8.98 billion, helped by strength in Canada.

Excluding gasoline-price fluctuations and currency exchange rates, U.S. same-store sales rose 2%, below estimates for growth of 3.4%. Same-store sales in Canada increased 2% overall and 7% when excluding gas prices and currency.

L Brands turned in a disappointing sales performance in April, a rarity for a chain that has turned in consistently strong monthly results.

The parent company of Victoria’s Secret reported a 1% increase in same-store sales, below Wall Street expectations of a 4.8% gain.

Sales for the month increased to $737.5 million, up from $724.6 million in the same month last year.

The company’s Bath & Body Works division saw a 5% increase in same-store sales while Victoria's Secret posted a 1% decrease.

The employees who once greeted shoppers with a friendly “Welcome to Walmart” are making a comeback.

Walmart is reviving and updating its door-greeter program in an effort to improve customer service and also deter shoplifting.

The greeters were the invention of company founder Sam Walton, who saw them as a way to put a friendly face on the chain’s large stores. But in recent years, most of the employees who served as greeters were moved to other parts of the store.

Teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is losing a key member of its executive team.

Jonathan Ramsden, COO, is resigning from Abercrombie effective June 15, 2006. Ramsden, who joined the company in 2008 as executive VP and CFO, was promoted to COO in 2014.

Troy Alstead, the longtime Starbucks executive who resigned as COO in February 2016, is ready to take his next professional step.

According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, Alstead is planning to open a 57,000-sq.-ft. “sustainable social hub” in Gig Harbor, Washington. Offerings will include a restaurant, bar and café as well as a 20-lane bowling alley and meeting and party rooms.