News

Thomas Pink Deploys Real-Time Solutions
Menswear retailer bullish on Internet of Things, RFID
While most retailers continue to dip their toes in the Internet of Things waters, Thomas Pink has jumped in with both feet — and is seeing results.
The luxury menswear brand is involved in an IoT proof-of-concept test at its store on Wall Street in downtown Manhattan. Using a cloud-based IoT platform from Acuitas Digital, the retailer has the backbone it needs to seamlessly integrate networking, hardware, software and analytics solutions — all necessary pieces to digitize the physical store.
Ulta Beauty Overhauls Online Experience
New e-commerce platform helps retailer better serve shoppers
Ulta Beauty is on a roll — offline and on. It’s growing in the physical space, with 100 new stores on tap for 2017, and is also expanding its capabilities in the digital space.
Ulta’s e-commerce sales hit $345.3 million in 2016, and online traffic continues to climb. For its most recently completed quarter, e-commerce sales grew 63.4%, and mobile volume rose more than 90%.

Multiple Options with Faux Wall Panels

Brian Kampe, CEO of Texture Plus, spoke with Chain Store Age about how retailers can use faux wall panels and the advantages they offer more traditional materials.
What trends are you seeing in the use of faux wall panels in retail?
This year we’re seeing creations and combinations of natural textures such as wood to create bold surfaces. We’re seeing a lot of layering of different textures for maximum impact. Imperfect surfaces are being combined in compelling ways for the consumer.
Finding Inspiration in a Tech Lab

Want to stay ahead of the competition — or at least keep pace with it? Invest in a tech lab — or an accelerator.
With the pressure to innovate greater than ever, savvy retailers understand they can no longer wait for new solutions and technologies to be proven in the field. That’s why so many of them have invested in tech labs (aka “retail innovation labs”).
The Next Great Thing

Trends offer new opportunities, responsibilities
The next great thing isn’t a piece of tech, an improved process, a branded message, or a fast-changing business model. It’s all this — at once. The fact is the next great thing is retail itself.
Retail lies at the convergence point of some of the most profound changes any business can experience. More, it plays out in front of customers and the rest of the world in real time. Retail brands that quickly harness new ideas by learning the details that make them work well become the winners.
Dealing with Asbestos

The best thing to do about asbestos? Leave it alone — if the structure is safe.
That was one of the takeaways from the SPECS session, “Hazardous Building Materials Among Us.”
Asbestos was a mainstay in both commercial and residential buildings for decades because, simply put, it was a cheap and readily available lifesaver, explained speaker Michael Ebel, VP and principal scientist at Amec Foster Wheeler.
“It was known as the ‘Miracle Mineral,’ heat-resistant, chemical-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and a poor electrical conductor,” Ebel said.
REIMAGINING STORES

As digital commerce forces brick-and-mortar stores to innovate, industry experts share their views on the future of physical retail.
From department stores to discounters to home improvement chains, nearly all retailers are engaged in the same game: trying to imagine what stores of the future will look like in an increasingly digitized world.
Real Estate’s 10 under 40

Every business magazine sports an “X Under 40” list celebrating precocious professionals. But, really, isn’t it almost always youthful drive and optimism that feeds the engine of progress?

The stories of Chain Store Age’s 2017 list of over-achievers under 40 abound with examples of young people from different disciplines who all discovered retail real estate as the perfect channel for their passions.
CSA Talks With RPAI’s Nick Over

How many American moms would love to see their sons grow up to become accountants or lawyers? Nick Over is both, but he decided to apply his skills and knowledge to the challenging world of real estate. After just two years at RPAI, the 36-year-old Over is steering the company into new avenues as its director of development. Chain Store Age spoke with him recently about his current pet project.
Takin’ It to the Street

People and corporations are streaming back into America’s downtowns. Are they chain retailers’ best hope for growth?
“City of stars, are you shining just for me?” sings Ryan Gosling in this year’s hit movie musical “La La Land.” “City of stars, there’s so much that I can’t see.”
Center Stage at SPECS 2017

Retail and restaurant executives, architects, suppliers and other industry professionals involved in store design/planning, construction and facility management gathered together for Chain Store Age’s 53rd annual SPECS conference.
The event, held at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, Fla., focused on the evolution and innovation of physical stores in a digital age, and explored industry trends that are transforming how stores are designed, built, operated and maintained.
A Tale of Two City Developers

If you live in a big city, you gauge your age by the changing real estate. As a kid and then as a teenager, I saw Shea Stadium and Giant Stadium being built. Both are now memories. Driving a New York City cab in the early ’80s, I rarely got a fare to Williamsburg and, when I did, I quickly turned around and headed back to Manhattan over the Williamsburg Bridge.