News

Express beats customer expectations through outsourced services
Omnichannel has pushed the envelope on customer expectations, and retailers need to deliver — literally. Express is not only meeting customer expectations, it is exceeding them by outsourcing its fulfillment and freight operations to Radial. The omnichannel technology and operations provider’s Richwood, Kent.-based fulfillment center features space specifically built out to support Express’ back-end omnichannel needs.
Pennsylvania center gets innovative traffic control system
The new Hamilton Crossings shopping center in Lower Macungie Township, Pennsylvania, will benefit from an innovative new traffic control system that manages signal timing based on continuously monitored traffic volumes. The system allows traffic approaching the center from a major artery to the mall “largely unstopped” by lights, township engineer Alan Fornwalt told Allentown’s Morning Call.

Macy’s to host first national holiday hiring day

Macy’s is the latest retailer to announce it will hire roughly the same amount of holiday employees as last year. This holiday season, the department store giant plans to hire approximately 83,000 associates for positions across its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, call centers, distribution centers and online fulfillment centers nationwide.
Ascena Q4 profit misses

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.
Report: EMV adoption remains sluggish

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).
Five reasons why Walmart bought Jet.com

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.
Wal-Mart closes Jet.com deal

It’s official: Wal-Mart is ready to service a new online customer base. Wal-Mart’s acquisition of Jet.com was finalized yesterday, a move that extends the chain’s already vast digital presence.
Mattress Firm and Steinhoff — done deal

A South African-based company is now the owner of the largest mattress retailer in the United States. Steinhoff International Holdings NV announced it completed its acquisition of Mattress Firm Holding Corp. As a result of the completion of the transaction, which was first announced in August, Mattress Firm’s common stock will no longer be traded on the NASDAQ stock market.
Store traffic is down and it may not come back. What should retailers do about it?

By any measure, empirical and anecdotal, the number of people visiting retail stores is down. There are plenty of theories about why: it’s the mass movement of shoppers to online; it’s changing consumer preferences; it’s the weather; it’s those pesky, hard-to- figure-out millennials who would rather hunt for Pokémon than bargains at the mall.
Tory Burch taps former Burberry exec

John Douglas has been named chief technology officer at Tory Burch LLC. In this newly created position, Douglas will be responsible for leading the company’s global technology and IT functions. Previously, Douglas was the CIO with MCM Fashion Group. Prior to that position, he spent nine years as CTO at Burberry.