News

Toronto - HBC Department Store Group is deploying the Swirl in-store beacon marketing platform to deliver digital experiences to consumers' smartphones while they shop in the company's department stores in Canada and the U.S. Using beacons installed in merchandising areas throughout its stores, Hudson's Bay and Lord & Taylor will automatically deliver branded content and personalized offers to in-store shoppers through an array of company-owned and third-party mobile apps.

Tewskbury, Mass. – The unfolding saga at the Market Basket grocery chain continues to take unexpected twists and turns. According to the Boston Globe, the board of directors of Market Basket parent company Demoulas Super Markets has said it will consider a purchase offer from former CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, and the company also faces a lawsuit from several employees.

Los Angeles – Global real estate investment and services firm Kennedy Wilson has closed four retail and entertainment lease transactions in Hollywood, Santa Monica and Westchester. This collection of new leases, which carry an aggregate value of more than $3 million, points to an uptick in the Los Angeles retail market.

New York -- RadioShack has been notified by the New York Stock Exchange that it failed to satisfy listing standards and could be delisted after its average stock price stayed below $1 for 30 days, according to a document the company filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Dallas Business Journal reported.

RadioShack shares will continue to trade as usual on the NYSE. Under the exchange rules the troubled retailer has six months from the date of notification to regain compliance, or get its shares back above $1.

Chesapeake, Va. - In a merger that will shake up the dollar store retail vertical, Dollar Tree is acquiring Family Dollar for $8.5 billion in cash and stock. The resulting company will operate more than 13,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada, with an annual sales volume of $18 billion.

WTI expects August 2014 temperatures to trend similar to last year for the U.S. as a whole. Much of the East will trend warmer than last year with the Southeast also trending warmer than normal. Summer clearance promotions will see the biggest returns during the first three weeks of the retail month in the eastern half of the nation. A sharp change to colder weather at the end of the month in the North will be more favorable for back-to-school and autumn categories. Precipitation will be greater than last year across the Plains for the month overall.

The Children's Place has announced that Lou Lipschitz, a member of its board of directors and chair of the audit committee, has died.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend, colleague and trusted advisor Lou Lipschitz. Lou's financial leadership, and passion for our business, enriched our company and our board, and we will dearly miss his dedication, grace and wonderful sense of humor," Norman Matthews, The Children's Place chairman of the board, said.

Target is looking to bolster sales results in Canada by appealing to parents and students this back-to-school season, offering everything from fashion to school supplies at prices that it touts as “unbeatable.”

The National Retail Federation (NRF), Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), Food Marketing Institute (FMI), Merchant Advisory Group, National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), National Grocers Association and National Restaurant Association (NRA) are jointly calling for an open and universal tokenization standard in the U.S. payments system.

The groups released a statement saying payment card data is currently vulnerable to theft where card information is swiped or entered, where card information is stored, and where it is transmitted.

More than 200 unique print on-demand products are now available at Amazon as the company looks to give customers yet another reason to visit its website.

Amazon launched the 3D Printed Products store at www.amazon.com/3dp which gives customers access to 200 products that can be customized by material, size, style and color variations, and personalized with text and image imprints.