TECHNOLOGY

  The hottest fashion trend today is speed—and retailers need to be in the fast lane to remain competitive.   That’s according to new research from Kurt  Salmon, part of Accenture Strategy, which finds that  speed and agility are the top priorities for every retailer competing in fast fashion.    

Virtual reality is making its way to Canada — Lowe’s Canada, that is.   On the heels of Lowe’s “Holoroom How To” virtual reality-based DIY skills-training clinic debut in the chain’s Framingham, Massachusetts store last month, the concept is now available in Lowe’s Canada’s Burlington, Ontario location.  

It’s a new day at Starbucks Corp.   Kevin Johnson officially took over as CEO of Starbucks on Monday, April 3. Outgoing CEO Howard Schultz continues on at the company as executive chairman, and will focus on the development of  Starbucks’ new formats, Reserve Roasteries and Starbucks Reserve,  and the company’s social impact initiatives.   

Convenience stores are poised for another strong quarter.    A combination of low gas prices, strong consumer confidence and warmer weather is expected to continue the year’s already strong sales at convenience stores into the second quarter of 2017, according to the results of a survey of c-store owners conducted by NACS.   A full 80% of convenience retailers expect in-store sales to increase this summer compared to last year, and 57% expect their fuel sales to increase compared to last summer.

Retail executives know their industry is going though fundamental and massive change, but that doesn’t mean they are taking action to deal with it.   

Conn’s has found a new third-party lease-to-own partner.   The retailer said it has formed a partnership with Progressive Leasing, a subsidiary of Aaron’s, to provide lease-to-own payment solutions to customers who do not qualify for Conn’s proprietary credit offering.   Conn’s has entered into an exclusive three-year agreement with Progressive Leasing to offer Conn’s customers Progressive’s lease-to-own program.  

Rent-A-Center is taking another step toward repositioning the company for profitability.   The furniture retailer’s Acceptance Now division is terminating its referral agreement with Conn’s Appliances. These accounts consistently underperformed compared to the rest of its ANow portfolio in terms of delinquencies, losses and product returns.   

Starbucks Corp. is making some changes to its Seattle headquarters that include a couple of format debuts.   The coffee giant is set to open its first-ever location that only accepts mobile orders and payments on the eight floor of the building, reported the Puget Sound Business Journal.