News

Listen: Consumer Industries: Using Real-time Consumer Insights
New York – Dan Berthiaume, senior editor of Chain Store Age, recently participated in a one-hour panel discussion, “Consumer Industries: Using Real-time Consumer Insights,” sponsored by SAP as part of its “Coffee Break with Game-Changers” Internet radio series.
Patagonia charts new territory with denim disruption
Outdoor wear retailer Patagonia is trying to revolutionize the way denim is manufactured, sold and worn with a new collection.

Patagonia's new denim collection is made with environmentally friendly dye, Fair Trade Certified sewing practices, and 100% organic cotton grown without pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers.

Fanatics taps SiteSpect for better online experience

Boston -- Online licensed-sports apparel retailer Fanatics has taken website testing and optimization to a whole new level.

Fanatics is using SiteSpect’s Origin Experiments to test more than site aesthetics, such as headlines and font color. The solution empowers Fanatics to execute a broad range of tests on new site features and functionality, such as on-site search and checkout flow.
Office Depot picking up pace of store closures

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot is accelerating its previously announced plan to close at least 400 stores as the retailer awaits its acquisition by Staples.

After shuttering a greater than expected 99 stores in the second quarter, Office Depot boosted its 2015 store closing target to 175 locations, with another 60 due to close in 2016. The closings are on top of 153 closings throughout 2014, including 108 stores in the fourth quarter of last year.
Is this the next retailer headed for an IPO?

New York -- Petco Animal Supplies may be headed for an initial public offering or sale.

The retailer has selected Goldman Sachs Group to help with an IPO or sale that could value the pet supplies retailer between $4 billion and $5 billion, including debt, Reuters reported.

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Rue21 helps deliver clothes and a message to girls

Rue21 inc. is launching an unconventional philanthropy initiative designed to resonate with the retailer's target market.
Three Reasons Cloud-Hosting Providers are Targeting Retail

Retail is becoming an increasingly hot market for hosted cloud computing providers. Some of those providers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Aliyun cloud division of Alibaba, are operated by retailers.
Nerd alert: The Force is with Toys"R"Us this September

Toys"R"Us is headed to a galaxy far, far away with its next promotion.
Walgreens appoints Amex executive as accounting head

Deerfield, Ill. - Walgreens Boots Alliance has named Kimberly R. Scardino as its new senior VP, global controller and chief accounting officer. Scardino joins Walgreens Boots Alliance from American Express Co., where she was senior VP, business advisory controller.
Instacart, Deliv turn up the heat in delivery wars

The options for consumers who dread the store checkout lane are exploding now that fast growing Instacart is on a hiring spree and competitor Deliv says it will be expanding into more than 100 cities.