News

Ross Dress for Less on March 5 opened two new stores in the Chicago area.

The retailer opened a 27,000-sq.-ft. location in Berwyn, in Cermak Plaza, nine miles west of downtown Chicago at the southeast corner of West Cermak Road and Harlem Avenue.

It also opened an Archer Heights location, a 25,000-sq.-ft. store in the Pulaski Promenade, nine miles southwest of downtown Chicago at the northwest corner of 42nd Place and Pulaski Road.

The newest addition to a Texas-sized mixed-used development taking shape north of Fort Worth is a 350,000-sq.-ft. retail project from Tanger Factory Outlet Centers.

Gap Inc. CEO Art Peck was in New York on March 16 to receive the 2016 Catalyst Award from an organization focused on accelerating progress for women through workplace inclusion.

The CVS Health Foundation on Wednesday announced the second round of grants awarded in partnership with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids through the "Making the Next Generation Tobacco-Free" grant program. The new grants are part of #BeTheFirst, CVS Health's $50 million, five-year initiative to help deliver the nation's first tobacco-free generation, and extend the company's commitment to help people lead tobacco-free lives.

Finish Line has hired a high power technology executive to make sure it avoids recent technology implementation challenges in the future while keeping pace with athletic footwear consumers’ desire for an omnichannel experience.

RSR has been tracking retailers' e-commerce strategies for more than five years. During that time we’ve seen interest in a major platform refresh, the introduction of mobile and social as e-commerce considerations, as well as convergence – where retailers increasingly view mobile and other non-commerce online activities in the context of their overall "digital" strategy, with their e-commerce platform as the centerpiece.

As the national conversation regarding violence in the workplace suggests a heightened awareness stemming from increased media coverage, recent studies suggest there may be statistical evidence supporting this perceived frequency.

The Kroger Co. has promoted one of its regional executives to be its new VP of retail operations.

The grocery chain said it has promoted Mary Ellen Adcock to serve as Kroger's group VP of retail operations, effective May 16. She succeeds Marnette Perry, whose retirement was previously announced. Adcock currently serves as VP of operations for Kroger's Columbus division.

Technology-themed sessions were in abundance at Chain Store Age’s 52nd annual SPECS conference, which was held March 13-15 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. The conference focuses on store planning/design, equipment, construction and facility services, and IT is slowly but surely becoming a much bigger part of this end of the retail enterprise.

Here are three technology-related learnings from the conference.

Buildings get smart