News

A spectacular mixed-use development will soon break ground in Gainesville, Fla. — at the intersection of I-75 and Archer Road. When complete, Celebration Pointe will run more than a half-mile along I-75, the heart of Gainesville’s most successful retail corridor.

The project’s specs are awesome: 125 acres, 1 million sq. ft., 300,000 sq. ft. of upper-moderate and specialty retail, a huge restaurant and entertainment component, Class A office space, nearly 1,000 multifamily residential units, a branded hotel.

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in July 2012 versus July 2013 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains. Walmart continues to see large increase in page count year-over-year, alongside Fred Meyer and Lowe’s this month. In contrast to Lowe’s, Home Depot saw a 44% drop in page count versus last year.

Woonsocket, R.I. - Accordant Health Services, a subsidiary of CVS Caremark, has launched an updated website and member portal, which provides new features and services for program members and is designed to help support and improve member engagement and participation for clients.

Accordant.com now provides eligible members with online access to educational materials, videos, communication tools and community resources that encompass 17 conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease and sickle cell disease.

New York – As a result of slumping net and same-store sales, Aeropostale is forecasting a net loss per share of between 42 cents and 44 cents during the second fiscal quarter of this year, which is 19 cents higher than the previously issued guidance. The revised estimate is based on a 6% decrease in net sales to $454 million, from $485.3 million in the year ago period.

There is a euphoria surrounding Amazon and the moves the company is making these days that is reminiscent of the phase Walmart went through in earlier decades when it was viewed as the ascendant growth company that could do no wrong. Supercenter expansion was rampant and Walmart was viewed as the company that was going to dominate everything it touched.

By Ted Vaughan, [email protected]

The year 2012 was the best year for retail IPOs since 2002 — S&P Capital IQ reported seven offerings for the year — and when we released our 2013 IPO Outlook Study earlier this year, 30% of capital markets executives expected initial public offerings (IPOs) in the retail and consumer products space to continue to grow in 2013. Now that we’re well into the second half of the year, how have those expectations fared?

With rising expectations that Walmart’s sales for the recently ended second quarter will be weak when it reports on August 15, the company once again has naysayers doubting its growth prospects with some questioning its long-term viability.

Naperville, Ill. – OfficeMax is speeding up the process of customer segmentation with Monetate LivePredict, an automated segment discovery product designed to automatically identify valuable customer segments and their attributes. Using LivePreict, OfficeMax intends to identify, at the brand and campaign levels, highest and lowest-performing segments.