News

Sports Authority is looking to advance its omnichannel strategy by continuing to partner with personalization solutions provider Certona for the fifth year in a row.

REI has grown to 140 stores in 33 states with a sizable e-commerce operation. Imagine what the company will be able to do now that it has finally named a chief information officer and gotten aggressive about recruiting technology talent.

The national outdoor specialty retailer elevated Julie Averill to the role of CIO after the 25 year technology veteran joined the company last year as senior vice president of information technology. She joined REI from Nordstrom where she served as the department store retailer’s vice president of technology.

Two retail and consumer product goods veterans are the newest members of Target's board of directors.

New York -- Amazon should be feeling pumped about the  results of its one-day super sale anniversary event in July.

The Internet giant had a 30.1% increase in marketplace sales in July over the year-ago period, with the increase likely due to its “Prime Day” sale on  July 15, according to a ChannelAdvisor report.

New York -- Get ready for Irish fast-fashion.
 
Value apparel retailer Primark, which  recently launched its U.S. website, announced it will open its first U.S. location, in Boston, on Sept. 10. The store measures 77,000 sq. ft. and is situated downtown in the Burnham Building, the site of the city’s iconic Filene's department store.

Primark’s second U.S. outpost will open in King of Prussia mall. The retailer said it plans to open an additional eight stores over the next two years.

New York -- Female millennial shoppers still like the mall when it comes to shopping for back-to- school goods, and they are also using social media platforms to talk about it.

New York -- Barnes & Noble claims the top position in a list of the most powerful “Back-to-School” retail brands, according to Tenet Partners’ Top 20 ranking.  

Rounding out the top five: Walmart, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Amazon and Old Navy.

Emeryville, Calif. -- Jamba Juice is making it more convenient for customers to get their smoothies.

The chain announced that consumers will now be able to skip the line at over 200 stores where the retailer will be rolling out the first phase of its new mobile order-ahead app. The new smartphone tool is available on the Jamba Juice app.

New York -- As Costco Wholesale inches closer to opening its first location in France, the retailer may not find the country such an easy target by any measure, reported the Seattle Times.

In France, Costco will find itself on the doorstep of hypermarket giants Carrefour, Auchan and Casino, which run huge stores selling a dizzying assortment of food and other products, according to the report.

For the full story, click here.

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples has opened an online store whose products were determined by crowdfunding.

The winners of the chain’s inaugural Crowd2Shelf Contest are being featured on Staples’ new entrepreneurial store at Staples.com/fundable. The debut of the online store marks the first time a retailer has used crowdfunding to determine market demand and social support in choosing products to carry.