News

Ikea is expanding its renewable energy commitment with state-of-the-art fuel cell technology.

Based on the success of a pilot installation, the Swedish home furnishings retailer plans to install biogas-powered fuel cell systems at four stores in California.

A year ago, Ikea completed installation of a similar project at its location in Emeryville, Calif., one of the company’s two San Francisco-area stores.

Online brand enters brick-and-mortar space with style

Online menswear retailer Combatant Gentlemen has made the leap to brick-and-mortar with a sleek, streamlined space that speaks to its millennial audience.

It opened its first permanent retail store in July, at Santa Monica Place, Santa Monica, Calif., having previously opened pop-up shops in New York City and Los Angeles, and a showroom at its headquarters in Irvine, Calif. At 2,220 sq.

Target is taking its lighting to the next level. The retailer tapped Acuity Brands to provide Target stores with smart lighting technologies, featuring energy-saving LED fixtures and dimming controls. Target will be exclusively installing Acuity’s next generation, smart LED sales floor fixtures, along with its store accent lighting and distribution center site lighting.

Chain Store Age recently sat down with Stefan Weitz, chief product and strategy officer of omnichannel commerce and service provider Radial (formerly eBay Enterprise), to discuss how retailers can offer a seamless experience and have a successful holiday.
    
What is the biggest challenge retailers face when trying to enable omnichannel?

In many cases, it’s thinking they can do omnichannel by themselves.

Here are some insights from IBM* regarding last year’s holiday season that retailers would do well to keep in mind as they finalize plans for holiday 2016:

1/ Make mobile a key part of your integrated customer engagement strategy. Mobile traffic and sales continue to rise year after year. Create a mobile-friendly customer journey and content for the mobile experience, using tools to enrich the channel.

2/ Optimize your website for all screens.

Get ready for a very competitive holiday season.

Update on retail’s most important time of the year

It’s no secret that online shopping and changing consumer preferences continue to impact physical retail traffic. Despite the shifting landscape, retail sales remain largely intact and, more importantly, are expected to increase year-over-year this holiday season.

November and December are prime time for physical retailers.

A company named after the first reptile to develop the feather for flight — archaeopteryx lithographica — is moving to expand its fledgling store portfolio.

Founded in 1991, Vancouver, British Columbia-based Arc’teryx is a manufacturer of high-performance outdoor apparel and equipment. Although the brand’s roots lie in the climbing landscape, it has long since expanded to include skiing, backpacking and other outdoor activities.

There’s no getting around it: It’s been a long, hot summer for the retail industry, one that many retailers will be happy to see end.

From the liquidation of The Sports Authority and Hancock Fabrics to the downsizing of Macy’s and Office Max (to name a few), the past few months have been full of angst as merchants struggle to find their way in a disrupted marketplace.

The good news is that many merchants are rising to the task. They are making the hard calls, however painful, and investments necessary to compete in today’s omnichannel world.

CommerceHub, a distributed commerce network for retailers and brands, is expanding its existing partnership with Walmart, integrating directly with Walmart’s online third-party marketplace.   Under the new agreement, CommerceHub’s network of approximately 9,500 customers, including many of the largest retailers, marketplaces and brands in North America, will be able to team up with Walmart.com.