News

How many promotional emails a week is too many?
Consumers have spoken, and there is a definite number of retailer emails that crosses the line.

According to a new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. shoppers from customer targeting technology provider First Insight, the average consumer subscribes to 2.3 retailer email lists and receives 13.1 emails a week from these lists.
Guess plans dramatic growth by 2019
The combination of an unspecified number of new stores, e-commerce and same store sales growth will enable Guess Inc., to surpass annual sales of $3 billion in three years, according to new CEO Victor Herrero.

Guess ended its most recent fiscal year with total sales of roughly $2.2 billion, but CEO Victor Herrero, who joined the company last July from Inditex, believes the company can add $800 million in worldwide volume in the next three years, despite sales and profit declines last year.

Anthropologie, Portland, Oregon

Anthropologie is offering customers what it calls the “ultimate Anthropologie experience” at its expanded store in Portland, Oregon.

The 25,000-plus-sq.ft. space features, among other things, 12 full-scale living, dining and bedroom settings, a home design center complete with stylists. and limited edition capsule collections.

It also features an extensive shoe selection with more than 300 styles, 800-plus bath, body and beauty items and an expanded selection of activewear.
Target names two IT executives

Target Corp. is expanding the management of its technology organization with two new executive hires.

Tom Kadlec will join Target as senior VP of infrastructure and operations. He will be tasked with leading efforts to modernize and enhance Target’s technology foundation. The company also announced the hiring of Joel Crabb as VP of architecture, with responsibility for enterprise architecture, agile practices and Application Program Interfaces (APIs).
SPECS Exclusive: Tablets unlock store development potential

More powerful than a smartphone and more portable than a laptop, tablet computers offer retail design and construction professionals some unique opportunities.

In a session at Chain Store Age’s SPECS 2016 conference at Hilton Anatole in Dallas, March 13-15, “Tablets Unlocked,” Bart Waldeck, CMO and senior VP of product strategy for Tango, identified the top five opportunities tablets offer the store development process.
Ulta Beauty sizzles; to open 100 stores

Ulta Beauty is on fire — offline and on.

The specialty beauty retailer plans to open 100 new stores in 2016 while also pursuing new merchandising initiative to enhance the productivity of existing locations.
Furniture retailer builds back-end performance

A furniture shopper sees and feels the fabric and the design of the product, but a solid underlying structure is essential to customer satisfaction.

Similarly, while the shopper only sees and feels the front end experience, there is an underlying back end experience that is crucial to their overall happiness. With that in mind, the Omaha, Nebraska-based operator of four retail stores and one clearance outlet across Texas, Kansas and Iowa has the selected JDA warehouse labor management solution to better plan and manage its warehouse employee workforce.
ShopKo Hometown store growth accelerating

March promises to be a busy month for Shopko.

The retailer will open 10 Shopko Hometown stores in late March, bringing its total number of stores opened this year so far to 12.

The company plans to continue to accelerate the expansion of its Hometown format with additional locations through 2017. Developed over the past five years to augment Shopko’s larger store model, the concept is focused on serving the needs of smaller rural communities. Stores average 15,000 sq. ft. to 35,000 sq. ft.
Best Buy develops future tech resources

Best Buy Co. Inc. is expanding a series of programs and partnerships designed to ensure the availability of a crucial IT component – human talent.

As part of this ongoing initiative, in spring 2016, the Best Buy Teen Tech Center network will open four new centers that offer year-round after-school programming. And from May through September, more than 6,000 students will attend free Geek Squad Academy (GSA) two-day sessions in communities around the country.
Schimenti Construction in extensive overhaul of Converse flagship

Converse found a perfect fit when it looked to renovate its 15,500-sq.-ft. flagship in Manhattan.

It was imperative that the store have as little downtime as possible, and Schimenti Construction delivered a solution tailor made for the iconic sneaker retailer. After only one month of shutdown, the flagship reopened in its landmark building in SoHo.