News

Kohl’s to open 6 p.m. Thanksgiving, offer omnichannel holiday services
Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Department Stores will open its doors at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and remain open through midnight Friday, Nov. 28. The retailer will also offer a variety of omnichannel holiday services, including a daily “Today’s Deals” section on Kohls.com.
The future of Walmart store layout and design
Veteran Walmart store planner Jay Mitchael is a featured speaker at an upcoming event organized by Doing Business in Bentonville.

Mitchael, vp of store layout and space productivity at Walmart, is scheduled to speak Thursday, Nov. 13 at the Doing Business in Bentonville event which runs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. in Rogers, Ark. Among the topics the organization said he will address are changes in store design, current prototype rollout and something called the space capture project.

U.K. convenience store One Stop extends Galleria merchandising rollout

Wolverhampton, U.K. –- U.K.-based convenience chain One Stop has been using Galleria’s Customer Centric Merchandising solution for planogram automation and optimization for a number of years, and is now implementing the Galleria Behavioral Cluster Planning tool. The new solution will provide a better understanding of consumers, assisting One Stop to understand how their categories are being shopped.
Walmart pares Japanese store portfolio in EDLP move

Walmart’s Japanese subsidiary Seiyu plans to close 30 stores and remodel 50 others next year in an effort to strengthen its every day low price strategy.
Elizabeth Arden swings to Q1 loss, plans Southeast Asia entry

New York -– Non-recurring items, including charges relating to stock issuance and tax valuation, helped swing Elizabeth Arden Inc. to a net loss of $25.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to net income of $1.59 million in the same period a year earlier. Declining North American fragrance sales helped reduce net sales 21% to $270.38 million from $343.6 million.
New creative voice at Bill Blass

The Bill Blass brand is in for a breath of fresh air with the arrival of celebrated designer Chris Benz as new creative director.

Reporting directly to Stuart Goldblatt, Bill Blass’ newly appointed president and CEO, Benz will be responsible for the overall creative direction of the company.

Benz brings to Bill Blass years of experience in the fashion industry, including designing for Mark Jacobs and J.Crew, as well as his own collection CHRIS BENZ, launched in 2007.
Regis, Red Wing refresh store systems with Insight

Minneapolis –- Hair salon chain Regis Corp. and specialty footwear retailer Red Wing Shoes both recently engaged Insight Inc. to refresh their store systems.

Regis rolled out the Insight Retail Ready program to refresh its network infrastructure, server, wireless and points of sale in more than 2,000 U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico SmartStyle salons located in Wal-Mart stores.
QVC enhances smartphone, tablet experience

West Chester, Penn. –- QVC will introduce a new in-app mobile feature in the coming weeks that allows customers to make purchases with a touch of their finger. Using Apple's fingerprint sensor technology, Touch ID, the QVC for iPhone app now gives customers the option to log in to their QVC accounts on all iOS 8-enabled iPhone 5S, 6 and 6+ mobile devices using only their fingertip to authenticate their identity.
Lower gas prices won’t ensure happy holiday

Retailers are in for a “humbug holiday” with a 3.4% overall increase in sales and a deceleration in e-commerce growth, according to a new forecast from retail industry consulting and research firm Customer Growth Partners.
Lowe’s names innovation and vendor partners of the year

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe's Companies Inc. has named 3M, Stainmaster and Truper as the company's 2014 Vendor Partners of the Year. The companies were selected for their commitment to product quality, innovation and customer service.