News

Women’s apparel retailer files motion for sale of assets
Joyce Leslie on Monday announced that it filed a motion on January 14th for court approval to set bid procedures and an auction date for a sale of most of its assets.

The young women’s fashion retailer had previously announced that it had filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 on Jan. 9.
Report: Walmart merging tech teams to create new group
Wal-Mart Stores’ online push continues.

The retailer will merge its Bentonville-based information systems division with its Silicon Valley-based technology unit, zWalmartLabs, next month, Reuters reported.

The merger will create a new group called Walmart Technology.

The chain’s CIO, Karenann Terrell, and chief technical officer, Jeremy King, will continue to lead the information systems group and zWalmartLabs, respectively. Both will report to Neil Ashe, head of the chain e-commerce division, the report said.

Cash still king for many consumers

Even in today’s expanding market of digital payment options, cash remains a leading payment form.

That’s according to a survey of over 1,000 consumers by Cardtronics. It shows that in spite of people having access to and using a greater variety of payment methods, cash remains widely used and frequently selected for making all sorts of payments.
2016 Retail IPO Outlook

When providing the BDO retail IPO outlook for 2015 at the beginning of this year, we asked: Will consumer businesses face a potential Alibaba hangover in 2015?
Report: Amazon expands logistics reach

Amazon.com's China division has registered as an ocean freight forwarder, which will give the e-commerce giant more control over shipping products from Chinese factories to U.S. shoppers, according to Reuters.

Read more by clicking here.
Walmart closing unprecedented number of stores

Walmart said it will close 269 stores worldwide this year, including many of its smallest stores, in an unprecedented move CEO Doug McMillon characterized as being more disciplined about growth.
Tractor Supply looks to unleash pet product sales

The pet products category is hugely important to Tractor Supply and now the nation’s largest operator of farm and ranch stores has devised an innovative approach to drive demand at its nearly 1,500 stores.
NRF slashes holiday sales forecast

The National Retail Federation confirmed what many retailers already knew and made a downward revision to a holiday forecast that initially called for 3.7% growth.

Citing what it called “unforeseen events,” the National Retail Federation (NRF) said sales during November and December increased 3% to $626 billion, down from an earlier forecast which envisioned growth of 3.7%.
Teen retailer avoids delisting

Aeropostale announced on Friday that the New York Stock Exchange had accepted the company's plan for continued listing, subject to quarterly review.
Lowe’s continues building toward visual future

Trying to picture how home improvements will look in your mind’s eye can be tough, and Lowe’s is using emerging technology to expand the view.

Kyle Nel, executive director of Lowe’s Innovation Labs, recently told Chain Store Age how retailer’s proprietary technology development center is developing an app for the new Project Tango virtual reality (VR) mobile platform. Jointly created by Google and computer technology company Lenovo, Project Tango provides mobile devices with spatial capabilities.
Fresh delivery market gets new player

Move over, Amazon, Target and Google – the fresh delivery space is getting a little more crowded.

FreshDirect, the New York-based online provider of custom and prepared grocery items and meals, is launching a mobile one-hour fresh item delivery service.
NRF: Holiday sales fall short of forecast

The National Retail Federation confirmed what many retailers already knew and made a downward revision to a holiday forecast that initially called for 3.7% growth.

Citing what it called “unforeseen events,” the National Retail Federation (NRF) said sales during November and December increased 3% to $626 billion, down from an earlier forecast which envisioned growth of 3.7%.