News

Retail success is based on a blend of art and science. Office Depot is such an advocate that it is expanding its use of customer insights and dedication to customer science.  

Tory Burch is expanding its fledgling new retail format.   The company will open a 2,060-sq.-ft.  Tory Sport store at Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota, in late October.    Tory Sport, which launched in 2015, currently has a store in Manhattan’s Flatiron District and another in East Hampton, New York. In addition to the upcoming Mall of America store, it will open a location in Dallas, also this fall.  

On the heels of announcing plans to open smaller, “local” stores, lululemon athletica hopes to further extend the breadth of its brand by expanding its ship-from-store service — just in time for the upcoming holiday shopping season.    The program, which currently encompasses 11 stores, will grow to 65 locations, a move that will streamline fulfillment of online orders, Laurent Potdevin, lululemon’s CEO, said during the company’s fiscal second quarter 2016 earnings call last week.  

A newly formed developer called the Maker Bros. has announced plans to build a $150 million mixed-use project in South Austin, Texas, christened the Saint Elmo Market District.   A 40,000-sq.-ft. former school bus factory on the site will be converted into and indoor-outdoor marketplace that will serve as the new home of the Saxon Pub, a celebrated live music hall in Austin. Maker Bros. has apportioned 100,000 sq. ft. of the site for office space, a boutique hotel, and condos.  

Kohl’s comprehensive omnichannel distribution network is about to get even bigger.   The department store chain is preparing to open a new distribution center in Plainfield, Ind., just in time to manage the 2017 holiday season.  

Cabela’s is known for transforming mere customers into raving fans. To elevate these efforts, a new optimization solution will help associates further improve in-store customer engagement efforts, from both tactical and strategic levels.  

The ability to scale solutions as a means of meeting customer expectations is the name of the game in omnichannel success.    By adding a new cloud-based retail suite, DSW is modernizing its back-office applications, and adding a new level of flexibility, security and innovation required in an always-evolving omnichannel landscape.   

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. has won court approval to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy.   The chain’s reorganization plan was approved by the court on Tuesday. Under the plan, the chain will give all its stock to affiliates of private equity firm Golden Gate Capital, its senior lender.