News

In a relatively short space of time, the retail industry has been turned on its head. Not that long ago, retailers would decide which goods they would stock, how much they would price each item, and which locations would sell which goods. Today, consumers are calling the shots. The smartphone has become like a store in a pocket and consumers use them to quickly find the exact item they want and compare prices to get the best deal. Depending on what is more convenient for them, they can arrange for home delivery or click-and-collect.

A new report from Nielsen offers concrete evidence that brands really can do well by doing good.

A landmark global report from Nielsen show that brands that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability grow faster than those that don’t. According to the 2015 Nielsen Global Corporate Sustainability Report, in the past year, sales of consumer goods from brands with a demonstrated commitment to sustainability have grown more than 4% globally, while those without grew less than 1%.

Shoe Carnival has picked a new executive for a key role in its omnichannel-oriented growth strategy which could involve accelerated expansion of a small format.

The retailer has named Jeff Fink as its senior vice president of real estate. Fink will oversee the Company’s store site selection and lease administration functions.

Stadium Goods, an unusual new retail consignment concept dedicated to premium sneakers, launched on Monday with a multichannel format that includes a website and a flagship in New York City’s Soho neighborhood.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-height: 100000px; color: rgb(54, 54, 54); font-family: open_sansregular, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-colo

 Rite Aid on Tuesday announced that The Rite Aid Foundation is making a $25,000 donation to the Palmetto South Carolina Region chapter of the American Red Cross to help the victims, families and communities affected by last week’s severe flooding. 

Food Lion has come up with an artistic way to connect with the communities it serves and feed the hungry at the same time.

The retailer is inviting kids ages 5-14 to participate in its Food Lion Feeds "Summers Without Hunger" Design-a-Reusable-Bag Contest. The winning design will be featured on next year's Food Lion Feeds reusable bag, which will be sold in more than 1,100 stores in June. The campaign is anticipated to help provide another 1 million meals to families and children in need. 

Bon-Ton is planning to hire thousands of seasonal workers this holiday season for its 270 Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers department stores.

The company says it will hire 13,000 seasonal workers, about as many as last year, and will also hire 500 seasonal employees at its e-commerce fulfillment center and at its distribution centers.

Dollar General is rightsizing its expense structure by eliminating several hundred positions at its home office.

Dollar General said that effective immediately it had eliminated 255 positions but noted that 115 of those positions were vacant. The move follows an announcement the previous week by Walmart to eliminate 450 positions at its Bentonville, Ark., headquarters. Dollar General said the move was part of a broader initiative aimed at proactively improving efficiencies and reducing expenses by restructuring its corporate support functions.

Stadium Goods, an unusual new retail consignment concept dedicated to premium sneakers, launched on Monday with a multichannel format that includes a website and a flagship in New York City’s Soho neighborhood.

Both channels specialize in limited and special edition sneakers, and the type of exclusive, hard-to-find styles that sneaker enthusiasts (“sneakerheads”) are willing to shell out thousands of dollars for.

Whole Foods Market has made a minority investment in a fast-growing California restaurant chain, according to Nation's Restaurant News.

As part of the deal, Whole Foods plans to test the opening of Mendocino Farms outlets in select Whole Foods store locations, the report said.