News

Regardless of how volatile the retail landscape is, brands must remain focused on driving customer engagement — especially if they want to survive.   This point was driven home during Manhattan Associates’ Momentum conference, held in Las Vegas, May 8-11. During the event, industry observers discussed how the future of retail will center around the customer — and delivering a seamless, personal experience moving forward.   

The countdown is on to the highly-anticipated U.S. debut of a sequel to the popular holiday-themed movie “Love Actually.” 

Jewel Food Stores (Jewel-Osco), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Albertsons Companies, is expanding its footprint in Indiana.    Jewel-Osco said it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Central Grocers to acquire 19 Strack & Van Til stores and other certain assets. Strack & Van Til is owned by Central Grocers, which filed for bankruptcy protection at the beginning of May.   

Amazon is celebrating two decades as a public company in a big way — as an enterprise worth nearly $460 billion.   The retail giant, which began as a modest online bookstore, went public on the Nasdaq in an IPO valued at a modest $438 million. Today, Amazon has grown into an empire that not only sells books, but has become a major player across categories, including clothing, food, furniture, jewelry, private-label goods and electronics, among other segments.   

An online menswear brand that is expanding its store footprint has expanded its senior team.      Vancouver, Canada-based Indochino has appointed Randy Binning as VP of retail operations. The 15-year Guess Inc. veteran most recently served as director of stores for Guess and Marchiano Canada. Prior that he was a regional director for Guess. Binning is charged with leading a consistent and exceptional customer experience across all locations and ensure continued profitability as the company continues to grow.  

Outdoor retailer REI is setting up shop in a fast-growing gym niche.   REI and Momentum TM Indoor Climbing are launching REI Co-op Climb, which will serve as a hub for climbing gear, programming and events at each of Momentum’s new climbing gyms. Expert instructors from REI’s Outdoor School will help Momentum members and guests gain skills and confidence through gym to crag classes.   

The company formerly known as Restoration Hardware has added a longtime Williams-Sonoma executive to its executive team.   RH announced the appointment of Sandra Stangl as president of new business development. In the position, she will lead the development of future new business and growth strategies that will leverage RH’s proprietary multichannel platform.  

Online retailing is on an upward trajectory that shows no sign of slowing.   In fact, the segment is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of close to 16% between 2017-2021, according to a research forecast from Technavio.