News

Target Corp. is expanding its portfolio of smaller stores.

The chain expects to roll out 14 more of its smaller stores this year, including a 21,000-sq.-ft. location in the Queens borough of New York City, which is opening this week, according the New York Post.

The Unilever-Dollar Shave Club deal reflects the growing importance of emerging brands, vertical integration, and the consumer direct route to market favored by new CPG market entrants such as Dollar Shave Club, Honest Co., and NatureBox.

Politics can make for some strange bedfellows.   Donald Trump’s campaign is reportedly using American Apparel to manufacture some of its campaign apparel merchandise, according to Fortune.  

At least one retail industry participant is expecting the 2016 holiday season to be prosperous.   Omnichannel commerce technology and services provider Radial plans to hire an additional 550 workers in Reno, Nevada to support an expected 10-fold increase in demand during the upcoming holiday season. Radial operates fulfillment centers in Reno, which are in need of workers to help support its retail clients.  

A veteran of Apple has been named as the new senior VP in charge of global logistics, inventory allocation and replenishment at Target.   Ben Cook will lead the optimization of Target’s inbound and outbound supply chain processes, including carrier transportation and last-mile delivery. He’ll also oversee inventory allocation and replenishment, merchandise planning operations and global logistics. He will report to Target’s executive vice president and chief supply chain and logistics officer, Arthur Valdez.

The Kroger Co. is expanding its position in the pharmacy vertical.   Axium Pharmacy Holdings Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kroger, will acquire Orlando, Florida-based specialty pharmacy retailer ModernHealth. Financial terms of the agreement with ModernHealth parent company ModernHC Holdings Inc. were not disclosed.   The deal will create a combined specialty pharmacy that will operate as a wholly-owned Kroger subsidiary.  

Mall of America is using leading-edge technology to enhance the on- and offsite customer experience.   The Bloomington, Minnesota-based center is the latest retail participant to adopt virtual reality (VR) technology. A new, VR-based immersive experience allows customers to “see” retail, entertainment and live events within the mall.  

Even geeks appreciate the convenience and hands-on experience of visiting a physical store.   Recognizing the continuing popularity of brick-and-mortar, specialty video game retailer GameStop Corp. has been extending its pure-play ThinkGeek banner into physical stores. GameStop purchased ThinkGeek parent company GeekNet Inc. in 2015. ThinkGeek specializes in selling “loot,” or collectible items and memorabilia, rather than video games.  

Hesitating to offer back-to-school deals could result in significant loss of potential sales.  

Sequels are rarely better than the original, but the second annual Amazon Prime Day may deserve comparisons to “The Godfather Part II” and “The Empire Strikes Back.”