News

Report: Holiday shopping, driven by digital, to get early start
Gone are the days when Black Friday signified the official launch of the holiday shopping season. In fact, nearly half (49%) of shoppers will have a bulk of their holiday shopping done by Thanksgiving Day, according to a new survey from market intelligence solutions provider Market Track. And digital deals will be the catalyst.
Store traffic is down and it may not come back. What should retailers do about it?
By any measure, empirical and anecdotal, the number of people visiting retail stores is down. There are plenty of theories about why: it’s the mass movement of shoppers to online; it’s changing consumer preferences; it’s the weather; it’s those pesky, hard-to- figure-out millennials who would rather hunt for Pokémon than bargains at the mall.

Casto’s focus shifts to urban projects

Casto has been successful building shopping centers in Ohio for 70 years because it’s not afraid to shift with the times, Don M. Casto III said in yesterday’s edition of the Columbus Dispatch. The company has increasingly joined forces with other developers on mixed-use projects and turned back to its roots of building residences and retail buildings in downtown Columbus, the paper reported.
Under Armour names new president

Jason LaRose has been named Under Armour’s president, North America. LaRose succeeds Matthew Mirchin, who will transition to the role of strategic advisor, global rrevenue, effective Oct. 1. The two men will continue to closely work together to “accelerate our footprint in North America,” Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour said in a statement.
Target CEO rallies his troops

Photo: Brian Cornell
Target Corp. CEO Brian Cornell made a rousing appeal to the chain’s associates at the company’s annual fall meeting. "We have 137 days in front of us to turn this into a winning year, to start that second-half rally," he said, the Star Tribune reported.
Warehouse, London
Report: Contact centers 'out of touch' with consumer needs

Industry observers are reporting that customer service is on the decline. The culprit: contact centers.
Rent-A-Center improves customer lease processing

Rent-A-Center customers can now attain merchandise even faster. The rent-to-own retailer added Provenir Cloud, from risk analytics and decisioning solutions provider, Proviner, to support the processing of customer applications for lease purchase agreements across its Acceptance Now division. AcceptanceNow partners with a variety of furniture, appliance and other retailers, increasing shoppers’ accessibility to high quality brands.
U.S. department store retailer continues Canadian expansion

Nordstrom is continuing to grow its footprint in Canada. The retailer on Friday opened its store at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, the company's second international flagship location since opening at Pacific Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, last fall.
Unusual deal gives Aeropostale new lease on life — and it just got better

A first-of-its kind arrangement has saved Aeropostale. A consortium made up of Authentic Brands Group (ABG) and two of the nation’s largest real estate companies — General Growth Properties and Simon Property Group — announced it has finalized the acquisition of the teen apparel retailer. It is the first time that mall operators have participated in a deal to acquire a retail chain.
Inland sells FedEx facility

Inland Private Capital Corporation has sold a FedEx Ground facility in Zionsville, Indiana, for $37.1 million. The 303,000-sq.-ft. FedEx center was constructed just two years ago on the property, which covers two land parcels totaling 49 acres in the town 17 miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis.
Pizza giant introduces bots for ordering

Domino’s customers can now place their orders without ever talking to a human. Starting Sept. 15, Domino’s customers with a “pizza profile” on the chain’s website can place orders via bot-based Facebook Messenger. The pizza chain's in-house team, which created zero-click ordering via Amazon Echo and Apple Watch, also developed Domino's new ordering bot.