News

Walmart ramps up fulfillment center growth to compete with Amazon
Walmart has gone into high gear in its fight to challenge Amazon. The chain is on track to double the number of warehouses dedicated to online sales to 10 by the end of 2016, according to a report on nbcnews.com.
Limited CEO jumps ship for Chico’s
Chico's FAS announced that Diane Ellis has been appointed president of its Chico’s brand, effective November 1, 2016. Ellis joins Chico's from The Limited, where she has served as CEO and president since 2013. Prior to The Limited, Ellis spent six years as president and COO of Brooks Brothers, where she led the stores, ecommerce, IT, HR, sourcing, product development, finance, supply chain and planning functions in support of the global operations of the brand.

West Elm isn’t the only retailer going into the hotel business

Hotels may just be the new frontier for retailers. Shinola, the quirky company best known for its pricey watches, bikes and leather goods, already has its headquarters, manufacturing arm and a flagship in Detroit. Next on the agenda: a 130-room-plus boutique hotel.
Shop Talk

TRENDING STORES: PetSmart debuted a new store concept that puts a big emphasis on pet services. The 7,400-sq.-ft. PetSmart Pet Spa, in Oceanside, N.Y., is decidedly smaller than PetSmart’s typical footprint and features a self-service dog wash, a grooming salon and a coffee bar-lounge area. The overall modern design includes a circular “concierge” desk with a bakery full of dog treats.…Amazon Books plans to open its fourth location, a 7,200-sq.-ft. store in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.
Holiday cheer — mostly

It’s that time of the year again — specifically, time for the holiday forecasts to start pouring in.
Let’s start with the good news. Early reports are calling for a solid season, with Deloitte predicting a 3.6% to 4% increase in total retail sales over last year.
As for the upcoming presidential election, it may be a temporary distraction in the early part of the holiday shopping season, but it’s not expected to have a negative impact on total sales. In fact, if past years are any indication, retailers may even benefit from a pickup in postelection consumer spending.
The Town Builders

Leading-edge developers, retailers bring stores to people, not people to stores
New store-supply-chain scenario

Supply chain visibility is important in omnichannel success. The Internet of Things could be the perfect tool to keep inventory hiccups throughout the demand chain to a minimum.
“While many retailers have a mind-set that IoT is about satisfying customers and not moving product, supply chain IoT use cases still interest retailers,” said Steve Rowen, managing partner at Retail Systems Research.
L Brands tops Street in September as some others disappoint

L Brands, operator of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, posted a better-than-expected 3% increase in same-store sales for September. The retailer’s results were fueled by a 9% increase in comp sales at its Bath & Body Works brand. L Brands’ net sales rose 6% to $919.9 million in September. The handful of other retailers who still report same-store sales did not fare so well.
Engaging the connected consumer

Reinventing the traditional retailing experience is paramount to reaching a digitally savvy customer base, according to Joe Jensen, VP, Internet of Things group general manager, retail solutions division, Intel. Jensen discussed with Chain Store Age how retailers can meet this challenge.
What are the biggest challenges that retailers are facing in their customer engagement strategies?
Fire at distribution center cuts into Gap’s results

The fire is out, but its effects will linger. Gap Inc. on Thursday reported a 3% decline in same-store sales for September, and said it expects the fire that occurred at the end of August at its distribution center in Fishkill, New York, will negatively impact its October comp-sales by approximately 3 percentage points and also have a negative impact on its comp-sales results in its fourth quarter.