News

Walmart turns up the heat on Amazon with new discounting program
Walmart has fired another shot at Amazon. In a move that leverages the retail giant’s vast store and delivery networks and expanding online capabilities, Walmart, starting April 19, will begin offering a discount on merchandise that customers buy online and have shipped to a Walmart store for pick-up. Walmart’s new Pickup Discount program will initially be available only on about 10,000 items, but will be expanded to more than one million of the chain’s most popular items by the end of June.
PetSmart expands physical presence and digital offerings
PetSmart is growing its brick-and-mortar footprint along with its digital one. The retailer opened 30 stores across the U.S. and Canada in the quarter ending January 29, 2017, for a total of 70 new stores opened in fiscal 2016 to 73.

Specialty arts and crafts retailer acquires video provider

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores wants to help inspire and educate its customers. The chain has acquired Creativebug, a content provider of videos on a wide range of topics in the arts and crafts sector. The purchase further establishes Jo-Ann Stores as a leader in the crafting industry, providing customers with an expanded offering of on-trend project ideas and classes, anytime and anywhere.
Supervalu in $375 million acquisition

Supervalu Inc. has entered into a deal that will expand its wholesale business into the West Coast. The company announced it will acquire Unified Grocers, a California-based wholesale grocery distributor, for approximately $375 million.
Whole Foods Market under pressure

After six straight quarters of declining same-store sales, Whole Foods Market is feeling the heat. Activist investor Jana Partners disclosed it had taken an 8.3% stake in the chain, and wants to accelerate its turnaround, Bloomberg reported.
Report sends Amazon’s stock price surges

Amazon’s upward trajectory is not going to stop anytime soon — and it’s not going unnoticed on Wall Street.
Discounter details its wide-ranging energy initiatives

Target Corp. is deploying a number of solutions to reduce its energy use. The retailer, recently named Energy Star Partner of the Year for the second year in a row, counts more than 1,400 of its buildings as having Energy Star status — the Environmental Protection Agency’s certification of energy efficiency — more than any other retailer. And the number is still growing as Target works towards its goal of having at least 80% of its buildings certified by 2020.
Office supplies giant honored for energy efficiency

Staples has been named a 2017 Energy Star Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award winner for continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency achievements. It is the eighth year in a row the company has been so honored.
Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)

Peet’s Coffee & Tea’s three-level outpost in historic Georgetown marries a contemporary design with the locale’s storied colonial past.
Report: Children’s apparel retailer preparing bankruptcy filing

Gymboree Corp.’s debt and mounting losses may have finally caught up with it. The embattled retailer is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Bloomberg reported, as it faces a June 1 interest payment on its debt. Gymboree has more than $1 billion in debt resulting from its Bain Capital buyout in 2010. It warned in March that it was running short on cash.