News

Women’s apparel chain looks to close stores and focus online
Four years of losses are catching up with Bebe Stores Inc. The fashion retailer is hoping to turn its brand around by closing its stores and putting all its focus on e-commerce, according to Bloomberg. Bebe currently operates about 170 stores.
Commentary: Shopping center owner ahead on the curve on Sears
Sears Holdings Corp.’s acknowledgement in a filing on Tuesday that the retailer had “serious doubt” about its future came as no big surprise to the retail industry, including Joseph Coradino, chairman and CEO of PREIT, a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns and manages 23 million square feet of retail and lifestyle space.

Starbucks in hiring spree fueled by continuing store expansion

Starbucks Corp. is ramping up its job hiring, here and abroad. It’s also doubling down on its commitment to the nation’s veterans. Hosting its 25th annual shareholders meeting in Seattle, the coffee giant announced plans to create more than 240,000 jobs around the world, including 68,000 jobs in the United States, by 2021.
Sears issues dire warning about its ability to survive

The fat lady is singing at Sears Holdings Corp. The long-struggling retailer said on Tuesday that there was “substantial doubt” that it could stay in business.
Lighting control rebates going strong

Lighting rebates hit a record of sorts in 2016. Commercial lighting rebates covered 79% of the United States, according to BriteSwitch, which is a record high since the rebate processing company began measuring rebate coverage nine years ago. The company cited several reasons for the historic high, including that many programs replenished their rebate funds in January. Also, some large programs that ran out of money years ago have come back such as FirstEnergy in Ohio and Duquesne Light in Pennsylvania.
CSA honors Breakout Retailer Award winners

Chain Store Age honored five dynamic and growing retail and restaurant brands at its annual Breakout Retailer Awards presentation, which was held at CSA’s SPECS 2017 Conference, in Kissimmee, Florida. The Breakout Retailer honorees for 2017 were Altar’d State, Bentley’s Pet Stuff, MOD Pizza, Sugarfina and Warby Parker. The awards were sponsored by Paint Folks, a division of Academy Service Group.
Apparel and accessories retailer Q4 sales, profit top Street

A move to a more fast-fashion model helped Francesca’s to outperform many of its peers in the fourth quarter, with sales and income that topped expectations. The retailer reported better-than-expected profit of $14.6 million, or 39 cents a share, for the quarter ended January 28, compared to $14.7 million profit, or 35 cents a share, in the year ago period.
First Look: Target’s next-generation store concept

Target Corp. has unveiled its next-generation store format, which will make its debut in Richmond, Texas, a Houston suburb, in October. In addition to the new 124,000-sq.-ft. Richmond store, 40 additional Target locations will receive elements of the redesign when they are updated, also in October.
Walmart in patent filing for in-store drones

The nation’s largest retailer is ready to put a whole new spin on merchandise fulfillment. Speed is the name of the game in retail these days, in store and online.
Online giant serves up personalized homepages

eBay is preparing to connect with each of its individual consumers — starting from the first minute they visit the site. The company plans to do so with a new homepage that is “designed to inspire and engage with relevant, personalized content and highlighted deals,” according to the company.