News

While much emphasis is placed on optimizing the front-of-the-house retail experience, improving back-of-the-house operations can also help retailers better meet customers’ evolving expectations – and intelligent lighting systems may be a key to improving those operations.    

Francesca's Holdings Corp. has found a chief executive.   The retailer appointed Steven P. Lawrence, who currently serves as chief merchandising officer for Stage Stores, as president and CEO. Lawrence, who was also appointed to the company’s board, will officially join Francesca’s in October 2016.   Lawrence replaces Richard Kunes, who has been serving as Francesca’s interim chairman, president and CEO since May 2016. Kunes will become the company’s chairman of the board.

Target Corp. on Wednesday announced its board has authorized a $5 billion share buyback plan.   The retailer will begin repurchasing shares under the new plan upon completion of its current $10 billion program, which is expected before the end of fiscal 2016 in January. Under that program, the company has purchased $8.8 billion worth of shares.   Target also declared a dividend of 60 cents per common share for the fourth quarter, unchanged from the third quarter.  

Magnolia Bakery, the Greenwich Village shop that ignited the cupcake craze with its appearance on "Sex in the City," opens this week at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley, New York.   This is the first storefront for Magnolia on the East Coast, aside from its original location. It maintains shops in Los Angeles, Chicago, Honolulu, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates.  

Consumers have made it clear: they want to shop across a brand holistically, not a company’s individual channels.   Yet, a lack of unified customer experiences continues to haunt customer service, and fails to drive customer loyalty. These details were revealed in “In-Store Meets Online: Unifying the Retail Customer Experience,” a report from Kibo, a cloud-based unified omnichannel commerce platform provider.   

Ascena Retail Group Inc., which operates apparel stores under the Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant and other banners, on Monday reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings worse than Wall Street expected and also gave weaker-than-expected guidance for fiscal 2017.   The parent company of Lane Bryant, Ann, Justice and other apparel banners reported net income of $13.8 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.  

Chip-based payment terminals seem to be everywhere. But that does not mean they are being used the way they intended.    However, almost a year after the imposed Europay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) mandate deadline, barely one-third of retailers actually accept chip-based payments, according to an infographic from The Strawhecker Group (TSG).  

With its deal to buy Jet.com officially close, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon decided to answer a question that many folks have been asking: Why Jet.com?   In a blog on its website, McMillon listed the top five reasons it bought the online startup. The top reason: to better serve Walmart customers and reach new ones.