News

Amazon.com is going to give select employees the chance to work a shorter week for reduced pay — but with full benefits.  

In a scenario that few could have predicted, Walmart has emerged as one of President Obama’s most reliable corporate allies, a partner that has backed the White House on more than a dozen initiatives, including Obamacare and climate change, bloomberg.com reported.  

On the heels of the biggest deal in its history, Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has entered into yet another deal to expand its U.S. footprint.   The retailer has signed an agreement to buy 53 stores in Louisiana, primarily in the Baton Rouge market, from American General Investments and North American Financial Group for an undisclosed price.    

Tanger Outlets is putting its pedal to the metal marketing-wise, signing on as lead sponsor of Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 78 NASCAR racer and his Furniture Row Racing Team.   The striking red-and-black Tanger Toyota will debut at the Federated Auto Parts 400 on September 10 at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia before motoring on through the 10-race Chase  playoff series.  

Quik Mart Stores has made the move to LED lighting.      The Tucson, Arizona-based convenience store/gas station chain replaced the existing fluorescent and HID interior and exterior lighting with solid state LED lighting at 25 locations in the Tucson market.     The retrofit was completed by SCS Energy Solutions Corp.’s SCS Lighting Division, which also developed a solution for beverage and freezer cooler lighting, as well as enhancing existing merchandise displays.  

Sephora has debuted its high-tech, high-service Beauty Tip Workshop format on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue.    The 10,040-sq.-ft. store offers an array of classes, group as well as one-on-one makeovers and boasts a number of innovations, including a new digital makeover guide.   Click here for more. 

Sephora has brought its tech-savvy Beauty TIP Workshop store format to Michigan Avenue in Chicago, complete with some new flourishes.    At 10,040 sq. ft., the new store is the beauty giant’s 400th freestanding location in North America, and only the fourth here to feature the TIP (teach, inspire, play) format. The other locations are Powell St., San Francisco; Prudential Center, Boston; and Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Toronto.   

Big Lots Inc. isn’t letting soft sales in the second quarter damper its outlook. Instead, the retailer raised its profit forecast for the year.   The discounter on Friday reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $22.7 million, which surpassed analysts’ expectations, from $17.64 million in the year-ago period.   Revenue totaled $1.2 billion in the period, which missed Street forecasts. Same-store sales inched up 0.3%.  

Tuesday Morning Corp. continues to expand its new prototype.    The off-price retailer announced the relocation and upgrade of two locations in Southern California. Its store at California Oaks Center in Murrieta, has relocated to Palm Plaza in Temecula, and its store at Foothill Village Shopping Center has relocated to Terra Vista Town Center (both are in Rancho Cucamonga). The new locations feature the chain’s latest prototype, which includes new fixtures, improved lighting and a redesigned layout.    

Online retail sales continue to grow as changing shopper behavior places greater expectations on brick-and-mortar retail. Despite this trend, store-based retailing remains more profitable than direct-to-consumer retailing, largely due to the high cost of free shipping and returns associated with online sales.