News

The Container Store attracts a lot of loyal customers, and soon those shoppers will have another reason to buy more closet organizers and kitchen jars, thanks to a partnership with Synchrony Financial.

The retailer announced a new, multi-year agreement with Synchrony Financial to offer a private label credit card program for customers. The card will be available for use in the retailer’s stores and online and is scheduled to launch in the spring of 2016.

Boston-based sporting goods retailer City Sports has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to liquidate at least a quarter of its stores.

According to the Wall Street Journal, City Sports said it has a deal with liquidators Tiger Capital Group to hold going-out-of-business sales at eight of the company’s 26 stores, which are scattered throughout the Northeast from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C.

Welcome to Connected Retail a new newsletter from Chain Store Age covering the intersection of customer and channel connectivity.

CVS Health on Monday announced that it is opening Hearing Centers in seven CVS/pharmacy stores in the Dallas and Cleveland markets and will be providing optical services at CVS/pharmacy in five store locations around the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. market.

“There are two kinds of big companies in the United States. There are those who’ve been hacked…and those who don’t know they’ve been hacked.”

Several years before FBI Director James Comey made that bold, now infamous proclamation on CBS’s 60 Minutes, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) partnered with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to initiate a federal strategic plan for cybersecurity research and development.

Another day, another social network makes it easier for consumers to purchase goods without leaving a retailer’s social page.

Pinterest is adding three major new e-commerce platforms and a whole bunch of retailers to its existing “Buyable Pins” feature.

Naturalizer is looking to engage with its core shopper on an emotional level by launching a digital marketing campaign that focuses on how style transcends generations.

The Naturalizer brand plans to feature the special bond between mother and daughter in this omnichannel campaign, as seen through the Durso, Sambucini and Baker families. Each family has styled a different Naturalizer shoe – with mother and daughter adding their own twist.

The bankrupt Haggen supermarket chain is following through on its promise to unload some of its California locations as the company looks to refocus its operations on 37 stores in the Pacific Northwest.

Haggen announced Monday that it has entered into an agreement with Smart & Final Stores Inc. for it to acquire 28 store leases and related assets from affiliates of Haggen Holdings for $56 million.

Although they are young, Generation Z has considerable buying power and influence. Gen Z will account for 40% of all consumers by the year 2020. Tweens today wield $43 billion in annual spending and influence another $150 billion.

In a not unanticipated move, American Apparel filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Monday. But the company said its stores will not be affected by the filing, and no store closings or layoffs were announced.

The Los Angeles-based retailer, which has not reported a profit since 2009, has been struggling under the weight of big debts sluggish sales and a protracted — and costly — legal battle with its founder and ousted CEO, the controversial Dov Charney.