News

Stein Mart inks new agreement with Synchrony Financial
Stein Mart says it has extended its consumer credit agreement with Synchrony Financial with a new long-term deal.

Since 2006, Synchrony Financial and Stein Mart have partnered to offer credit card programs for qualifying cardholders at the retail chain’s 278 stores and at Steinmart.com. Consumers can apply in-store or online for the Stein Mart Style Credit Card or the Stein Mart Style Platinum Master Card.
Report: Sports Authority may sell stores to Dick's Sporting Goods
Sports Authority Inc., which is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy, has discussed selling stores and intellectual property to rival chain Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. and other parties, according to Bloomberg.

Sports Authority, once the largest sporting-goods retailer in the U.S., is heading toward default after years of losing ground to competitors. The Englewood, Colorado-based chain missed a Jan. 15 interest payment on some of its debt and failed to make the payment during a 30-day grace period.

Report: Sam's Club to overhaul grocery offerings

Sam's Club is building a team of regional U.S. buyers to bring in more local and organic groceries in order to attract wealthier customers and better compete with Costco.

According to Reuters,Sam's Club has hired a handful of buyers in Dallas and is considering putting teams in up to five other markets, John Furner, chief merchandising officer at Sam's Club, told Reuters. Until now, all of its buyers have worked out of company headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Amazon makes a delivery deal with UK grocer

Amazon is about to launch its biggest venture into food outside of the United States.

The online giant will deliver groceries to Amazon Prime Now and Amazon Pantry customers in the United Kingdom under a new wholesale supply deal it has struck with Morrisons, the U.K.’s fourth-largest supermarket chain.

Under the arrangement, Morrisons will supply fresh, frozen and non-perishable goods to Amazon customers, starting later this year.
Kidpik gives girls fashion power

Young girls are notoriously picky about what they wear, and now someone is doing something about it.

Kidpik, a new online shopping service aimed at girls age 3-12 (and their parents), offers curated, personalized fashion collections. Girls initially fill out an interactive quiz about their apparel preferences, and based on the results are assigned a look such as Girly Girl, Modest or Classic Chic.
Rite Aid's 'Innovation Challenge' yields unique DME product

Rite Aid on Monday selected the Tri-Tip Walking Cane, an ergonomic walking cane, as the winner of the first-ever Innovation Challenge and will develope and sell the Tri-Tip Walking Cane in Rite Aid stores and online.
Lumber Liquidators taps Lowe’s veteran as COO

Lumber Liquidators on Monday announced the appointment of Dennis Knowles as COO, effective March 1, 2016.

Knowles has served in store operations leadership roles at Lowe's Companies since 2001, most recently as chief store operations officer, and prior to that as senior VP of store operations support and specialty sales and its senior VP of store operations for Lowe's West and South Central Divisions, respectively.
Retail revival continues in downtown Detroit

An award-winning comic book store will open in a new ground-up retail development in Detroit.

Vault of Midnight will occupy one the remaining retail spaces in The Z, which now includes several restaurants, art spaces, a sneaker shop and yoga studio.

The 2,000-sq.-ft. shop, expected to open this spring, will offer a broad selection of comic books and graphic novels as well as toys, games, action figures and branded merchandise.
Jet.com travels in new product direction

Online retail marketplace Jet.com is making a big move in the home goods market.

Jet.com is purchasing Omaha, Nebraska-based online home products retailer Hayneedle for an undisclosed sum. The sale was announced in tweets on the official Hayneedle Twitter account. In addition, Jet.com founder, chairman and CEO Marc Lore and Hayneedle president and CEO Jon Barker confirmed the acquisition in an interview with the Omaha World-Herald.
Lumber Liquidator woes continue in Q4

Things were worse than expected for Lumber Liquidators in the fourth quarter, which experienced decreased customer activity that was likely due to cancer-related concerns over its laminate flooring.

Net sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2015 were down 13.7% year-over-year to $234.8 million, including a comparable store net sales decline of 17.2% that was based on a 15.6% decrease in customer count and a 1.6% decrease in the average sale.
Five Innovations Transforming How Consumers Shop on Mobile

The abandoned shopping cart rate for mobile shoppers approximates an astounding 97%, according to some estimates. Clearly, this hair-raising stat proves consumers’ deep disappointment with mobile commerce.
Shoppers Drug Mart posts Q4 same-store sales lift of 5%

Loblaw on Thursday posted $33.6 billion in revenue for its year ended Jan. 2, a 6.5% lift with one week less of sales - Loblaw's fiscal 2015 represents 52 weeks while fiscal 2014 represents 53 weeks.