News

Golf superstore retailer continues to expand
PGA Tour Superstore is betting on Las Vegas. The retailer has signed a lease to open its first store in the Las Vegas market, a 30,000-sq.-ft. space in downtown Summerlin. The location, expected to open later this year, is the company's 31st store. It will be staffed with PGA teaching professionals, have five state-of-the-art swing simulators, multiple practice hitting bays, an expansive putting green and a junior putting green along with an in-house club-making and repair facility.
Tough going for three specialty retailers
L Brands, The Cato Corp., and The Buckle reported decreases in same-store sales, although one still managed to sound an upbeat note about its second quarter.

Wayfair extends reach of its augmented reality app

A furniture e-retailer is putting its augmented reality-based app into more shoppers’ hands. Wayfair’s AR application, WayfairView, has been integrated into its mobile shopping app on the newly released ASUS ZenFone AR. The smartphone, which launched on Thursday, is equipped with Google’s Tango AR platform.
Canada's Aldo Group in deal to create new footwear giant

Another retail sector continues to consolidate. The Aldo Group Inc. said it will acquire the footwear and accessories businesses of the Camuto Group. Both companies are family owned. The news comes just over a week after Michael Kors announced it was buying Jimmy Choo.
Bed, Bath & Beyond in workforce reduction

The ax has fallen at Bed, Bath & Beyond as part of the realignment of its .store management structure. The retailer said it has initiated in approximately half of its U.S. Bed Bath & Beyond stores and about a dozen of its buybuy Baby stores a limited realignment of its store management organization that will result in the elimination of about 880 department and assistant store manager positions.
Commentary: Is Obama still President?

There is an endless list of adjectives to describe the first six-months of the Trump administration. But one modifier is both accurate and acceptable — and that word is unpredictable. For context, the first six months of the Obama and Bush administrations were fairly predictable. Both embarked on a legislative agenda that looked and felt a lot like their campaign platforms and while the legislative process for both was rocky, we knew what we were in for. Not so much this time around.
Sugarfina gets backing to expand

Sugarfina is looking to expand its luxury candy offerings, online and in stores. The company announced it has closed a $35 million growth equity financing from Great Hill Partners, bringing Sugarfina's total funding to over $50 million. The new funding will be used to continue scaling the brand across retail, digital, wholesale, and corporate gifting, and to expand internationally to the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Sugarfina will begin its overseas expansion in early 2018.
Costco strong in July

Costco Wholesale Corp. turned in a winning performance in July, fueled by strong traffic trends. The company reported that its net sales in July rose 8.8% to $9.41 billion, compared to $8.65 billion during the similar period last year. Total company same-store sales rose 6.2%, with a 6.0% increase in the U.S. Excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange, total same-store sales rose 5.3%, and 5.5% in the U.S.
Amazon’s shoe business outpacing brick-and-mortar competitors

Amazon’s investments in the shoe business are paying off. While 2017 is not even close to over, it is shaping up to being a strong year for shoes on Amazon. The company has already experienced 18% growth year-over-year during the first two quarters, alone. For 2016, Amazon had a total of 35% year-over-year growth, according to a study by One Click Retail.
Target retail tech accelerator alum makes good

One of the retail tech start-ups from the inaugural class of the Target + Techstars retail accelerator program is expanding.