News

By Chris Donnelly, managing director for retail, Accenture Strategy   What do supermarkets have to gain from a price war? Judging from the battles that have been raging around the world of late, the answer is--nothing. Experience shows that they are truly a “race to the bottom”--aside from the consumer, the only possible winner is the lowest cost provider. Food retailers, however, have options for how to avoid getting drawn into a costly price war.   

Hallmar has partnered with Toys for Tots and pledged to donate $1.5 million in toys and funds to the organization this holiday season.

For 50 years, watching the television classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has been a holiday tradition for millions of families. This holiday season, Hallmark Gold Crown stores will be full of ways to celebrate the generous spirit of Rudolph and give back through a partnership with Toys for Tots.

Houston –- Mattress Firm Holding Corp. has completed its $245 million acquisition of West Coast bedding specialty retailer The Sleep Train Inc. Sleep Train operates approximately 310 specialty mattress retail stores located in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Hawaii, and reported net sales of approximately $471 million for the 2013 fiscal year.  

By Les Berglass    The appointments of new chief executives of major brands always cause a stir, but Gap Inc.’s recent announcement that Art Peck would succeed Glenn Murphy hit Wall Street like a truck. Why? Because the investment community  wanted a more predictable, standing CEO—it likes stability. But the truth is, this is a positive and revolutionary change.   

RadioShack’s same-day mobile repair service, branded as Fix it Here!, has been extended to more locations in the Chicago market.

The service is billed as a first-of-its-kind from a national retailer and offers owners of broken mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones the ability to have them repaired the same day, typically in less than two hours, for prices starting at $39.99.

Designer Cynthia Rowley and Staples today announced an exclusive work and home office collection that incorporates bold and artistic designs into everyday work and home spaces.   Cynthia Rowley Collection featuring visionary designs combined with new product finishes and treatments not typically seen in office accessories will debut at Staples stores nationwide beginning mid-Novermber.  

Amazon is “piloting” holiday pop-up stores this holiday season, with two confirmed locations in San Francisco and Sacramento, along with what may or may not be a permanent space in Manhattan. While theoretically Amazon is going to let the pilots run their course, analyze the results, and then possibly move forward with a rollout of more permanent brick-and-mortar stores, most observers expect the pilot is the first step in an already determined strategy to build a physical presence.  

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has acquired Action Pest Control as it looks to leverage the equity of its Ortho brand and drive growth in the $7 billion pest control industry.