News

Retail Disruption: Selfridges to go gender-free in March and April
New York -- In a new type of retail disruption, London’s must buzzed-about department store, Selfridges, plans to remove the men’s and women’s departments on the three floors of its Oxford Street flagship from mid- March to the end of April, replacing them with unisex or gender-neutral shops.
Amazon delivers bigger-than-expected Q4 profit
New York -- Amazon reported higher-than-expected profit for its fourth quarter, fueled by growth of its Prime memberships and holiday shoppers, even as its sales came in below forecasts. It’s a reverse for the e-commerce giant, which has typically sacrificed profits for rapidly-growing sales.

For the fourth quarter, net income totaled $214 million, down from $239 million in the year-ago period, but better than analysts had expected. Sales rose 15% to $29.3 billion, lower than the expected $29.7 billion.

Albertsons-Safeway merger officially closes

Boise, Idaho - Albertsons LLC and Safeway Inc. have completed their proposed merger, ending a nearly year-long process that began in March 2014. AB Acquisition LLC, the owner of Albertson's and New Albertson's, Inc., will acquire all outstanding shares of Safeway.

The merger will create a diversified network that includes 2,230 stores, 27 distribution facilities and 19 manufacturing plants with more than 250,000 employees across 34 states and the District of Columbia.
EBay Enterprise selects IBM cloud to boost Magento platform

King of Prussia, Pa. – EBay Enterprise, an EBay Inc. company, has selected IBM as a hybrid cloud platform to enhance its Magento Hosting Partner ecosystem.

This agreement is designed to expand global infrastructure options for Magento's more than 240,000 retail users by giving them access to the IBM SoftLayer infrastructure.
The next frontier of customer experience

Like many buzzwords in the industry, from cloud to big data, the term “digital” is evolving. Coining something as “digital” has always implied that it’s better or more advanced than the status quo. Remember when we moved from vinyl to compact discs? CDs had logos on them with the words "Compact disc DIGITAL AUDIO." Digital in this sense was the byword for ease of use, reliability and interference free music.
An i-popping Q1 for Apple

After seeing Apple’s first quarter sales, it’s no wonder more retailers are adopting a mobile-first mindset.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company reported a far better-than-expected 29.5% jump in quarterly revenue, driven by record sales of the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones in the holiday shopping season and strong sales in China.
GameStop ‘Evolving’ into omnichannel master?

Customers who are fans of the wildly popular video game Evolve will love GameStop’s new promotions, both online and in-store.

The video game retailer will be conducting consumer engagement quizzes in-store and online that allow fans to identify the best Evolve hunters or monsters based on their personal play style. Fans who share their results on social media will be eligible to win GameStop gift cards.

Customers can pre-order Evolve and sign up for the promotions in-store or online.
Sears a surprise winner in social media

It may be hard to believe (considering its financial troubles), but Sears was the most popular U.S. department store on Facebook during the 2014 holiday shopping season, according to a new study.

The data also show that Walmart.com was the most popular mass merchant store site.
4 reasons why Bitcoin is better

While the monetary value of Bitcoin has had its ups and downs (and will likely continue to in the near future), the technological value and the transactional advantages of using the digital currency remain reliable and increasingly promising.
New day dawning at Tuesday Morning

New day dawning at Tuesday Morning Tuesday Morning CEO Michael Rouleau declared the company’s turnaround complete after same store sales popped 7.6% and operating profits surged 32% during the second quarter ended Dec. 31.

The operator of 800 stores reported that the same store sales increase was as a result of a 7.7% increase in customer transactions, offset by a 0.1% decrease in average ticket. Sales at the 31 stores relocated during the past 12 months increased approximately 50% and contributed 140 basis points to the comparable store sales increase of 7.6%.
DSW names new COO, other positions

DSW Inc. is shifting titles and responsibilities within its executive ranks, with all changes effective Feb. 2.

Carrie McDermott, currently executive VP, sales and operations, will be appointed executive VP and COO.

In addition, Bill Jordan, currently executive VP and general counsel, will be appointed executive VP and chief administrative officer, adding IT to his portfolio of responsibilities.

Roger Rawlins, executive VP, omnichannel, will be appointed executive VP and chief innovation officer.
Macy's sees 'Red' in February

Macy’s hopes to ignite passion for the National Heart Association with its Go Red For Women promotions.

The retailer, a founding national sponsor of American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign, will offer merchandise and in-store events this February, all fashioned to bring awareness and funds to the cause of women’s heart health.