News

Boot Barn grows store footprint, online reach with acquisition of Shelplers
Irvine, Calif. -- Boot Barn Holdings announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sheplers, a 116-year old western lifestyle company with 25 stores across the United States. The purchase price was put at $147 million in cash.

By rebranding the Sheplers stores to the Boot Barn banner, consistent with the strategies of its prior two acquisitions, Boot Barn will enhance its store footprint by adding eight new retail markets and build its position in Texas and Colorado.
Report: Heavy digital coupon users shop more, spend more than average shopper
Mountain View, Calif. -- Consumers who use digital coupons both shop more and spend more than the average shopper. According to the "Digital Coupon Redeemer: Shopper Trends" report, heavy digital coupon users shop 47% more often than the average shopper, spending $6,081 annually on groceries and household goods alone – a 114% more than the national average.

Apparel retailer M. Fredric taps NCR for POS, inventory management

Duluth, Georgia -- NCR announced that California-based apparel retailer M. Fredric is enhancing its retail point-of-sale (POS) and inventory management systems with NCR Counterpoint.

The solution provides M. Fredric with a single retail management software platform to closely track purchases and inventory levels in real-time across its nine brick-and-mortar locations and e-commerce store. By providing real-time sales data, NCR Counterpoint will enable M. Fredric to benefit from increased visibility for stock purchasing decisions.
Plug and Play’s CEO Corner: Brian Ley, BiddRocket

Plug and Play brings together retailers and start-ups that offer specific technology and expertise that can relieve merchants’ pain points. Chain Store Age’s Customer Disruption newsletter provides a Q&A with the CEO of one of those companies in each issue. This time, the spotlight is on Brian Ley of BiddRocket.

What does your company do?
A.T. Kearney: China is top emerging retail market

Chicago -- Retailers looking for opportunities in emerging markets should look East, particularly to China, which ranks as the top country in A.T. Kearney’s annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI). China, which returns to number one in the GRDI rankings for the first time since 2010, is expected to surpass the United States as the world's largest retail market by 2018.
Developing an Effective Approach to Cybersecurity

By Emily Westridge Black and Christopher Quinlan

With major data breaches making headline news on a near-weekly basis, the retail industry is increasingly focused on cybersecurity. When creating their cybersecurity plans retailers should:

• Create a strong cybersecurity team that is cross-sectional, and include personnel from legal, information technology, human resources, and communications or public relations departments. The team should also include at least one member of senior management.
Tech Bytes: Three reasons more retailers are competing with Amazon

Amazon is facing increased competition these days. In some of the more publicized developments, subscription-based e-commerce site Jet.com is taking off soon, EBay is piloting a service to compete with Amazon Prime in Germany, and Google is reportedly planning to introduce a “buy” button that will turn searches into transactions.

Beyond the natural competition any successful business generates, there are specific factors making it more appealing than ever for retailers of all sizes to try taking on Amazon. Here are three of the most significant ones.
Five Below doubles down on DC capacity

Fast growing retailer Five Below is bolstering it supply chain capabilities in the northeast with a new facility that will eventually exceed one million square feet.

The retailer of of value merchandise for teens announced the it will open a new distribution center in Oldmans Township, N.J. The 1,045,000 square-foot facility, located at 5 Gateway Boulevard, Pedricktown, N.J., will replace the company's existing 421,000 square foot facility located 12 miles away in New Castle, Del.
Dollar General's latest grand opening really is grand

Dollar General has hit another milestone, this time in the small town of Juliette, Georgia.
Retailer launches personal stylist service via video

An online retailer that offers upscale men’s suits at ultra-low prices is launching a new service that aims to radically change online shopping.

Combatant Gentleman, a fast-growing startup that Inc. magazine has dubbed “the next Warby Parker,” has added a video chat solution to its website that allows clients to shop alongside a personal stylist. LiveNinja, a video-chat based startup, built a communication platform that allows for the retailer to establish more authentic relationships with customers online.
Private equity firm to buy 330 Dollar Tree stores

Dollar Tree has agreed to sell 330 of its stores to the private-equity firm Sycamore Partners in order to get regulatory approval for its $8.5 billion purchase of Family Dollar.

Sycamore Partners intends to operate the 330 stores, which represent approximately $45.5 million of operating income for Family Dollar, under the Dollar Express banner.
Survey: Shoppers use social media for praise more than blame

Social media users would rather post positive feedback to retailers than post a complaint, according to a new survey.

Research from eDigitalResearch reveals that consumers are predominantly using social media as a tool to give positive feedback. Of the 2,000 consumers surveyed who have used social media to contact a brand in the past year, 6% have used social media to send positive feedback about a company compared to 2% who said they have used this touch point to send a complaint.