News

Tea time
T2 STEPS ONTO THE GLOBAL STAGE
Australian specialty retailer T2 is looking to tap into the growing global market for premium teas — and it’s doing so with a style all its own. The company’s first international store, in London’s hip Shoreditch neighborhood, took top honors as the Store of the Year in the Retail Design Institute’s 2014 International Design Competition.
Another slam dunk for Foot Locker
Foot Locker Inc. is riding the wave of shoppers’ growing desire for athletic footwear -- especially trendy basketball shoes -- into all-time record sales.

Webinar: Maximize Your Traffic & Conversion Program

New York -- Installing traffic counters and collecting traffic data is easy. But turning the data into better business results is challenging for even the best retailers. Register now for Chain Store Age’s Webinar, “Three Ways to Get the Most Out of Traffic & Conversion Programs,” which will be held on Wednesday, April 1, at 2 p.m. EST.
The store is back (even though it never left)

The store is back, baby! That was the message I heard again and again at the National Retail Federation’s 2015 Annual Convention in New York City. It was sounded by retailers, consultants and tech suppliers alike as they rushed to explain the relevance of offline retail in an omnichannel world.

But the truth is the store never went away in the first place. Sure, some retailers are retrenching and reducing (or, in today’s PC lingo, “rightsizing”) their portfolios. It’s especially evident in the apparel sector, with some teen brands particularly hard hit.
Toy industry names new leader

The U.S. Toy Industry Association has a new CEO who brings a unique perspective to an organization whose members account for more than 90% of U.S. toy sales.

Stephen J. Pasierb will join the U.S. Toy Industry Association (TIA) at the end of April as president and CEO. He succeed current President and CEO Carter Keithley who is retiring and will be responsible for leading the growth, development, and oversight of TIA.
Fresh Market to exit California; will open 19 stores in 2015

Greensboro, N.C. – The Fresh Market Inc. will close its remaining stores in California, which include locations in Palo Alto, Santa Barbara and Laguna Hills, by March 31 in order to focus on higher growth opportunities. The decision comes even as adjustments to promotions and pricing helped drive impressive fourth quarter results.
Maximum engagement

Kohl’s pursues ‘Greatness Agenda’ with enterprise omnichannel initiatives

If you’re going to create an agenda, it may as well be an ambitious one. And the “Greatness Agenda” being pursued by Kohl’s Corp. is certainly that.

“Our strategy is to be the most engaging retailer in the U.S.,” Janet Schalk, executive VP and CIO of Kohl’s, explained during an interview with Chain Store Age.
Pharmacy sales lift Rite Aid in 2014

Strong traffic in the pharmacy department helped Rite Aid post a lift in same-store sales for the 52 weeks ended Feb. 28.

Same-store sales for the 52-week period increased 4.3% over the prior-year period. Front-end same-store sales increased 1.2%, while pharmacy same-store sales increased 5.8%. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 3.5% over the prior-year period.
Port dispute, weather slam Conn's deliveries

The labor dispute at the West Coast ports and harsh winter weather are among the reasons Conn's reported a drop in same store sales for February.

Conn's said same store sales dropped 5.8% in February, compared to a 14.9% increase in the prior-year period.
Cartridge World builds responsive e-commerce site

McHenry, Ill. – Specialty toner retailer/franchisor Cartridge World has created a unified shopping experience across multiple devices, establishing an automated fulfillment workflow, as well as integrating e-commerce into the franchise business model. Working with Web development company Devbridge Group, Cartridge World launched a responsive design-based e-commerce site that offers the same intuitive shopping process across all platforms.