News

Nordstrom  plans to shutter its location at Horton Plaza, in downtown San Diego.  The store, which opened in 1985, will remain open through August 26, 2016.   "These are always tough decisions to make, but in taking a look at the store's performance and our business needs into the future, we believe this is the best direction to take," said Jamie Nordstrom, president of stores for Nordstrom. "We look forward to serving our loyal Horton Plaza customers at our other San Diego stores.”  

Watch out Best Buy, the nation’s largest ecommerce retailer is on your tail.   According to a report by barrons.com, Amazon has moved ahead of Walmart to take the number two spot, behind Best Buy, as the nation’s largest electronics retailer.    

J.C. Penney announced a positive development on the financial front.   The department store retailer announced it has successfully completed refinancing its $2.25 billion five-year senior secured term loans, which should generate about $24 million in interest expense savings.  

Malls and outdoor centers are increasingly seeking out small and local merchants to help them stand out from the competition.   Kimco, for example,  has expanded a program that offers small businesses one year of free rent and reduced property charges, CNBC reported.  Originally started in California four years ago, the program has since been expanded to centers in 19 states.    

Sports apparel retailer The Finish Line topped Street estimates for its first quarter, turning in a solid performance in a challenging retail environment.    The company reported net income of $9.63 million for the period ended May 28, down 29.9% from $13.73 million in the year-ago quarter, amid higher costs.     Net sales rose 2.28% to $453.52 million, higher than expected,  from $443.39 million in the same quarter last year. Same-store sales increased 1.5%.  

Determining if an online clothing purchase will fit properly is a challenge for many women.    Launched in May 2016, e-commerce site Fovo curates apparel selections that are tailored to female shoppers’ specific body shapes.   “The way forward is personalization,” said Fovo cofounder Kiana Anvaripour in a Chain Store Age interview. We want to help women optimize the experience of shopping online for apparel so the ‘endless scroll’ doesn’t exist.”

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Wayfair Next innovation lab at Wayfair’s downtown Boston headquarters.   My genial hosts, Wayfair co-founder Steven Conine and Wayfair Next director Mike Festa, explained the lab’s mission and let me demo some very cool technologies.  

Retail group argues for  debit card swipe fee regulations.   The National Retail Federation said Congress should reject a proposal from the head of the House Financial Services Committee to repeal a cap on debit card swipe fees. According to the NRF, the fees have saved consumers billions of dollars over the past five years.  

Retail tenants are not only reporting a strong performance for the year so far, but are also optimistic about the next six months.

The National Retail Federation on Thursday pointed a dire outcome if the new overtime regulations are implemented as is.     The NRF told the House Small Business Committee that the new regulations  will lead to hiring freezes and layoffs for full-time workers if enacted as planned December 1.   “Proponents of this rule have touted the changes as a welcomed job creator,” NRF senior VP for government relations David French said. “These claims are riddled with partial truths.”