News

With rival AutoZone continuing to produce record results, Pep Boys' financial performance is headed in the opposite direction as uncertainty looms over who will acquire the company.

Pep Boys reported a 1.8% decrease in same store sales for the period ended Oct. 31. Net sales decreased by $9.4 million, or 1.8%, to $508.1 million from $517.6 million in the prior year. Net earnings were $1.3 million or 2 cents per share as compared to a net loss of $2 million in the prior year.

In October, Walgreens announced plans to acquire Rite Aid in a deal that had been widely anticipated. The deal is most certainly going to reshape the retail market by creating a drug store giant with nearly 13,000 stores in the United States; as well, it foretells of the significant changes occurring in the healthcare market.

Various technology analysts, retail industry pundits, and economists of all stripes, have long predicted the demise of paper and coin currency along with the dawn of a cashless society.

And it is true that over the last few years, we’ve seen a big acceleration in the drive towards large-scale consumer adoption of new digital payments technologies, especially in the mobile category.

Target is back to its old marketing tricks in New York City this holiday season with a16,000-square foot omnichannel "spectacle” opening Dec. 9 next to Chelsea Market.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the holiday pop-up store "is filled with 10 holiday-themed displays that incorporate a digital element on top of an interactive physical experience. Each one is tied in to a popular holiday toy that Target is selling at the space."

Activist investor Carl Icahn has offered to buy Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack in a deal valuing the U.S. auto parts retailer at about $837 million, trumping Bridgestone's offer of $810 million in October.

Retailers and brands are increasingly going on YouTube and posting “unboxing” videos of happy customers opening products and then examining and celebrating their features and functions for the camera, says the New York Times. [New York Times]

It’s like it is 1997 all over again with the Federal Trade Commission stepping in to block a merger between Staples and Office Depot on grounds that the deal would diminish competition.

Enterprise technology provider Software AG is expecting retail to become an increasingly seamless and store-centric proposition in 2016.

Target is looking to generate excitement online this holiday season with a just-launched promotion aimed at shoppers who love subscription services like Birchbox.

Target has just launched a specially designed collection of boxes called Wonderpacks, which the retailer says are “meant to inspire and capture family fun.”

The kits, available on target.com, are curated and contain a combination of products to create experiences, from a game-packed road trip to sledding after sunset, the retailer says.

Nordstrom continues to invest in new shopping models with the announcement that it is expanding its partnership with Shoes of Prey, a start-up that enables women to customize shoes online.