News

TreeHouse is a first-of-its-kind home improvement store. Specializing in curated products and services that promote healthy and sustainable spaces, the 25,000-sq.-ft. eco-friendly space is a hub for everything tied to smart, thoughtful building.

TreeHouse is airy and inviting, with skylights and an open feel. There are lots of displays, product vignettes and graphics that explain how things work and tout the benefits of non-toxic paint and the like.

Beijing – Pop star Taylor Swift has selected a Chinese e-commerce partner – and it isn’t Alibaba. Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com will be the first authorized seller of Taylor Swift merchandise in China.

The new JD.com store will be the official online source of Taylor Swift items, including a new fashion line the music superstar designed specifically for the Chinese market.

New York - Harry & David has selected MWW Public Relations to serve as its official public relations agency. To help drive Harry & David's brand relevance among target consumers, MWWPR is charged with developing and implementing a strategic communication plan that focuses on media and influencer engagement and strengthening Harry & David as a household name.

Chattanooga, Tenn. - Ross Dress for Less and Ulta Beauty are coming to Randolph Mall in Asheboro, North Carolina. The two new stores will be situated in the former J.C. Penney location.  

Construction is expected to begin in October with the grand opening for both stores scheduled for 2016. Randolph Mall is a 400,000-sq.-ft. mall featuring more than 40 specialty stores and is anchored by Belk, Dunham’s Sports, and Sears.

Irving, Texas - Tango, a provider of store lifecycle management solutions and services, has received an investment of $30 million from Frontier Capital, a growth equity firm. The investment in the company’s software-as-a-service, consulting and managed services businesses will support Tango’s growth and demand for their store lifecycle management solution in the North American retail market.

San Jose, Calif. – July 20 will always be a huge day in the history of PayPal Holdings Inc. PayPal completed its separation from eBay Inc. on July 17, but as of today is trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol “PYPL” as an independent public company

Framingham, Mass. – Staples Inc., famous for the “easy button,” is partnering with UPS to ease the shipment of UPS packages from any U.S. store location. Customers now can charge the cost of shipments at Staples to their UPS account, which means they don't have to prepare labels ahead of time and will see the invoice, and any customized rates, on their regular UPS invoice.

Hangzhou, China - Alibaba Group is providing the Chinese arm of a major global CPG company direct access to the Chinese consumer market. Alibaba and Unilever China are launching a comprehensive strategic partnership focused on areas including rural China penetration, cross-border e-commerce, Big Data-driven advertising, and supply chain optimization.

This agreement builds on a partnership that started five years ago with a single Tmall store. Through this strategic partnership, Alibaba Group and Unilever China will work together to:

Sunnyvale, Calif. – Yahoo Inc. has initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to spin off its remaining holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. into a new public company called Aabaco Holdings Inc. Yahoo initially announced its plans to spin off its Alibaba stake in January 2015.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. is presenting itself as “Tahget” to Boston-area shoppers. The Boston Globe reports that Target is offering an assortment of “Local Pride” T-shirts with stereotypically Boston phrases and slang, such as “Wicked Smaht,” in its store located in Somerville, Massachusetts, a small city bordering Boston.

The localized assortment will also be featured in Target’s new CityTarget location scheduled to open in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston on Wednesday, July 22.