News

Digital infrastructures are growing more complex, and taking a toll on decision-making.   Eighty percent (80%) of IT operations leaders reported that end-user experience monitoring (EUM) is very important or critical to delivering business outcomes. However, as distributed infrastructures grow in complexity, it is becoming more difficult to provide information needed to make business decisions, according to a study by analyst and consulting firm Enterprise Management Associates (EMA).  

With 46% of shoppers ready to start holiday shopping online and in-store in early November, retailers need to be ready.   As shoppers begin holiday shopping next month, make no mistake, mobility will be a mainstay this season, according to “Unwrapping Holiday Insights: The 2016 Retailer Guide to Consumer Trends,” a report from RetailMeNot.  

By the holidays, customers of J Sainsbury Plc will be able to take advantage of more mobile capabilities.   Leveraging its acquisition of the Home Retail Group, which closed last month, Sainsbury will begin adding Argos branches or click-and-collect distribution points inside almost all of its stores, according to a recent Bloomberg article.  

JLL Income Property Trust has purchased the Kierland Village Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, for $34.5 million. Kierland Village is an upscale development in the Phoenix suburb, which has seen a near 10% rise in population since 2000.   The 118,000-sq.-ft. neighborhood center is anchored by Safeway and houses Walgreens, Einstein Brothers, Pizza Hut, Panda Express, and a UPS Store.   The acquisition is in line with JLL’s current appetite for active, necessity-based centers.  

Two senators have introduced legislation to change the Americans with Disabilities Act.      On Sept. 28, Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced a bill that contains a “notice and cure” provision that would create a temporary halt in ADA litigation for up to 120 days to allow property owners to correct identified barriers to access. (A similar bill was introduced in the House.)  

Anthropologie’ s experiential retailing concept takes center stage under its new store banner, Anthropologie & Co., with the first-ever location now open in Walnut Creek, Calif.   The 30,000-sq.-ft. store is a visual treat, and features fully decorated showrooms, filled to the brim with custom furniture.   

Walmart is upping some managers’ salaries in anticipation of the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule, scheduled to take effect Dec. 1, 2016.     The retailer, the nation’s private employer, raised salaries for entry-level managers from $45,000 to $48,500 annually, Reuters reported, with the increase going into effect in September. Under the new rule, employers are required to pay overtime to salaried workers earning less than $47,500 a year. The current threshold is $23,660 a year.    

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores’ is making more executive changes.   The chain appointed Michael Goulder to senior VP, inventory management and supply chain. Chosen for his ability to drive significant performance improvements, Goulder has a track record for linking innovative strategies to operating tactics and leading organizational change, according to a company statement. He will report to the company’s president and CEO, Jill Soltau.