News

Seattle - One month after Starbucks and Arizona State University announced the expansion of a benefit to pay for employees’ college education, more than 1,800 have signed up, with more than 2,200 total. The Starbucks College Achievement Plan offers 100% tuition reimbursement for all four years of college.

Whole Foods Market is embarking on a project to teach its environmentally-minded customers that not all recycling is created equal.

The retailer announced a new partnership with Recycling Across America that aims to help reduce global waste and close the loop with the reuse of recycled materials in manufacturing.

Los Angeles – Net loss at American Apparel Inc. grew to $26.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, from $5.5 million the same quarter a year earlier. Increased cost of sales and foreign currency translation, as well as legal, litigation and consulting costs related to the termination of founder/CEO Dov Chaney, helped boost net loss.

Babies"R"Us is showing some love to expectant mothers by hosting baby showers for military moms-to-be for the third year in a row.

Babies"R"Us has provided more than $500,000 to the Operation Shower organization through grant funding and in-kind donations for the past three years of the partnership.Operation Shower is an organization that hosts baby showers for military moms-to-be as they experience the journey of pregnancy while their spouses are deployed.

H&M is looking to tap into some of the exploding growth in the beauty industry by launching its first beauty collection.

The retailer will launch the products this fall, with an assortment of makeup as well as hair care, body care and beauty tools. The company says the range, with an ever-evolving makeup selection, will focus on seasonal looks, ideas and colors. The products will be available in over 900 stores worldwide and online at hm.com.

Brussels, Belgium – Belgian grocery retailer Delhaize Group and Dutch grocery retailer Ahold N.V. have confirmed they are engaged in preliminary discussions about a possible merger that could create one of the largest supermarket operators in the U.S. But the two companies said the talks may not result in any deal.

San Francisco – Gap Inc. reported disappointing sales for April and the first quarter, hurt by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange and sliding sales at its namesake and Banana Republic divisions. Also, earlier timing of the Easter holiday, as compared to 2014, benefited the company’s March sales results and negatively impacted its April sales results.

Total same-store sales fell 12% in April, worse than predicted. Sales at Old Navy declined 6%, while sales at Banana Republic plunged 15%. Same-store sales for Gap fell 15%.

As retailers increasingly use gamification to drive customer engagement and growth, GameStop is taking the concept to new heights with its latest promotion.

The retailer is teaming up with Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment and Google Maps to turn city streets into monster tracking courses ahead of the May 19 launch of Warner Brothers and CD PROJEKT RED’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.