News

Home Depot CEO adds on chairman role
Home Depot’s CEO Craig Menear will take over as chairman of the board when Frank Blake retires Feb. 2.

Menear, formerly head of Home Depot’s retail operations, was named Blake’s successor as CEO in August, and the company said at the time that Blake would remain as chairman. Menear took over the CEO role at the beginning of November.
Retail sales expected to rise 4.5% in 2015, according to Kantar Retail
New York -- The outlook for the retail industry looks bright, with lower prices at the pump and decreasing unemployment boding well for consumer spending. Retail sales are expected to rise 4.5% in 2015, which is about one percentage point stronger than 2014 growth, according to a report by Kantar Retail, whose analysis excludes automobile dealers, and gas and food service.

Report: RadioShack may sell store leases to Sprint

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack Corp. is reportedly negotiating with Sprint to sell some of its store leases to the wireless carrier. According to Bloomberg, Sprint executives said the company is planning to expand its store count through acquisitions at an investor conference last week.
Former BN exec named CEO at Kellwood

Leading apparel manufacturer Kellwood has named ex-Barnes & Noble chief financial officer Joseph Lombardi as CEO.

Lombardi joined Kellwood as CFO in 2013, and has three decades of retail experience across a variety of sectors, including apparel.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Grocers get in on omnichannel action

The ability to create an integrated and personalized user experience across all channels is the promise of a new omnichannel grocery solution from Grid Dynamics.

With the supermarket world evolving rapidly and shoppers demanding increased integration between physical and digital, Grid Dynamics released its Omnichannel Grocery Platform as an extension of the SAP hybris ecosystem of solutions. Citing statistics from BI Intelligence, Grid Dynamics said 3.3% of current U.S. grocery spending is online and that figure is projected to increase to 20% by 2018.
Unilever and Sam's Club team up for dads

Unilever is trying to grow sales of men’s skin care products by targeting fathers with innovative workshops at Sam’s Club.

Dove Men+Care and Family First's national nonprofit fatherhood program, All Pro Dad, will present All Pro Dad in-Club interactive workshops at 60 Sam's Clubs in the Top 30 markets across the country on Jan. 17.
Wet Seal files Chapter 11

Foothill Ranch, Calif. – In a move that was somewhat expected, The Wet Seal Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The move comes a week after the struggling teen retailer said it was closing 338 of its stores, leaving it with approximately 173 stores nationwide.

“After careful consideration, the Board of Directors unanimously concluded that filing for Chapter 11 was the appropriate course of action for the Company,” said CEO Ed Thomas.
Survey: Consumers had a very discounted holiday

Plano, Texas – Consumers enjoyed a very discounted holiday season. According to a new survey from Alliance Data Survey, there was a 12% increase in the number of consumers saving on holiday purchases using rewards, discount offers and coupons.
Retailers aren’t giving consumers what they want

Retailers already knew they had work to do to better meet online shoppers’ expectations, just maybe not as much as revealed by new research from IBM.