News

Gymboree Corp. is "right-sizing" its store footprint.  

Early indications are that competitors didn't give Amazon much competition price wise Prime Day.   The third annual shopping extravaganza, which kicked off on July 10 at 6 pm PST and was scheduled to run until the wee hours of the morning of July 12, was originally introduced as a way to reward existing Prime shoppers and attract new ones. With promises of new deals every five minutes, the company reported on Tuesday that customers worldwide are shopping at “record levels,” according to CNBC.  

PetSmart was busy opening stores during its first quarter.   The retailer opened 18 new stores in the U.S. and Canada in its fiscal quarter ending May 1, 2017. PetSmart opened 70 net new stores in 2016 and expects to open more than this number in fiscal year 2017.     

A former Advance Auto and Starbucks executive has joined the executive team of the nation's largest bookstore chain.    Barnes & Noble said that Carl Hauch has been named VP stores, effective immediately. Hauch will be responsible for the entire retail store organization and profitable growth of the business, driving sales, training, developing talent and recruitment.     

Famous Footwear wants to get merchandise into its shoppers’ hands faster.   By rolling out an in-store pickup service chainwide, Famous Footwear’s online shoppers now have the option of picking up their orders in more than 1,000 locations. To encourage shoppers to try the service, the retailer is offering customers that shop between July 7 through July 11, a $5 discount off of one order containing an in-store pickup item.  

Office Depot had one goal when updating its loyalty program: to make sure that every shopper is rewarded.   The office supplies giant debuted its new loyalty program. Besides being free, the “Office Depot OfficeMax Rewards Everything” program is designed to save customers money, and deliver expanded benefits. The program evolved following a year-long pilot in several markets, a process that enabled the company to gather customer feedback needed to redesign the program.   

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has taken itself off the selling block.   The teen retailer said it has ended talks regarding a potential sale and will instead continue to focus on turning around its business as a standalone business.    

Amazon’s newest service is looking to give Best Buy a run for its money.   In a move designed to rival Best Buy’s Geek Squad installation and repair team, the online giant is quietly creating its own fleet of gadget experts, according to ReCode.  

With plans to triple its store portfolio in six years, Parfois needs to expertly anticipate demand and gain global visibility into its inventory.   By partnering with Oracle, the accessories retailer is one step closer to scaling its operations. Parfois added the Oracle Retail Merchandise Operations Suite and the Oracle Retail Warehouse Management System — two solutions that will support the company’s high growth and international expansion plans.  

J.C. Penney is enhancing customer benefits in its loyalty program.   The retailer is debuting a revample program that allows Sephora customers to double-dip on rewards and also allows earned points to roll over from month to month, reported the Dallas News.