News

New York -- Online high-fashion retailer Net-A-Porter is launching a mobile-app-based social network that will allow users to buy luxury goods, interact, and do a host of other things as well.

The app, called “The Net Set allows consumers to recommend products to friends, check out the latest trends, upload and share images and shop from among 350 fashion collections. The brands will gain direct access to communicate with Net-a-Porter’s customers for the first time.

Phoenix -- Big Shopping Centers USA and Red Development have announced a joint venture partnership to maximize market presence and performance of select U.S. retail properties in the Midwest and West. The alliance seeks to acquire established, first-tier community, lifestyle and power centers with strong tenant line-ups and sales figures that are well positioned in markets throughout the United States.

New York -- An early Easter that drew shoppers into stores in March and slowing economic growth helped cut into retailers’ April sales results.

At Costco Wholesale Corp., April same-store sales were flat, slightly below analysts’ estimates, primarily due to the strong U.S. dollar and lower gas prices. Sales at U.S. stores increased 2% for the four weeks ended May 3. Internationally, sales fell 4%.  

Total revenue inched up 2% to $8.75 billion.

New York -- Kohl’s Corp. has rolled out a buy online, pick-up in store service to all Kohl’s stores nationwide, allowing customers to pick up their orders within hours at their local Kohl’s store.

Boston -- Gordon Brothers Group and Hilco Merchant Resources announced that they will begin going-out-of-business sales at Simply Fashion and Dots retail locations nationwide beginning May 7.

By Bobby Koscheski, ACI Worldwide

EMV compliance is coming and when it hits, it will change the way payments happen across America. Today, when consumers make non-cash purchases at any number of their favorite merchants in the U.S., they stand in front of payment terminals, swipe their cards and follow the on-screen prompts. EMV will require new payment processes that, while seemingly small to those instituting the change, require a shift in behavior that could feel monumental to consumers.
 

San Francisco -- Americans modestly increased their spending in April, with growth across most major purchase categories, according to Visa’s Retail Spending Monitor (RSM), a quarterly report that tracks retail spending patterns based on real-time purchase data.  Retail spending in April was up 4.5% from the prior year, excluding automobile and gasoline purchases.

The upcoming release of “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee’s second book has caused widespread excitement, and now Barnes & Noble is looking to tap in to some of that with a special event at its stores.

Spring is in full swing, and PetSmart wants its customers to celebrate new beginnings by adopting a new pet.

The retailer will be hosting a national adoption weekend between May 15 and May 17 at all PetSmart stores. More than 3,000 animal welfare organizations will be on-site at all 1,400 PetSmart stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico to help customers find the perfect furry companion.

An “intense focus” on brand-building and improved product assortments led True Value to post a loss in the first quarter.

The retailer-owned hardware cooperative posted a net loss of $1.7 million, down $2.6 million compared to net margin of $0.9 million from a year ago. The company said the net margin decrease was driven by planned investment expense incurred in connection with the implementation of the strategic plan and was partially offset by a sales increase.