News

On the heels of announcing plans to open smaller, “local” stores, lululemon athletica hopes to further extend the breadth of its brand by expanding its ship-from-store service — just in time for the upcoming holiday shopping season.    The program, which currently encompasses 11 stores, will grow to 65 locations, a move that will streamline fulfillment of online orders, Laurent Potdevin, lululemon’s CEO, said during the company’s fiscal second quarter 2016 earnings call last week.  

A newly formed developer called the Maker Bros. has announced plans to build a $150 million mixed-use project in South Austin, Texas, christened the Saint Elmo Market District.   A 40,000-sq.-ft. former school bus factory on the site will be converted into and indoor-outdoor marketplace that will serve as the new home of the Saxon Pub, a celebrated live music hall in Austin. Maker Bros. has apportioned 100,000 sq. ft. of the site for office space, a boutique hotel, and condos.  

Kohl’s comprehensive omnichannel distribution network is about to get even bigger.   The department store chain is preparing to open a new distribution center in Plainfield, Ind., just in time to manage the 2017 holiday season.  

Cabela’s is known for transforming mere customers into raving fans. To elevate these efforts, a new optimization solution will help associates further improve in-store customer engagement efforts, from both tactical and strategic levels.  

The ability to scale solutions as a means of meeting customer expectations is the name of the game in omnichannel success.    By adding a new cloud-based retail suite, DSW is modernizing its back-office applications, and adding a new level of flexibility, security and innovation required in an always-evolving omnichannel landscape.   

PayPal Holdings has expanded its growing foothold in physical retail.    The payments services company has entered into a partnership with MasterCard that will allow shoppers to use PayPal’s services in stores. In July, PayPal signed a similar agreement with Visa.    

Hanjin Shipping Co., the world’s seventh-largest container shipper, is working to ease the potential cargo chaos caused by its bankruptcy filing last week.    The filing rose concerns among some of the nation’s biggest retailers that some merchandise may not arrive in time for the crucial holiday season, blooomberg.com reported.  

In the lead-up to this year’s holiday season, retailers across the country are already making important preparations in the hopes of increasing sales, improving customer service, and preventing data breaches. This last concern carries with it a heavy price tag; according to a survey from the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of holiday season cyber attacks is $8,000 per minute or nearly half-a-million dollars per hour.