News Briefs

Von Maur Department Stores is continuing its national growth strategy.

The family-owned company has opened its first location in North Dakota, at West Acres Mall in Fargo. The 90,000-sq.-ft. store is the company’s 39th overall, and follows the fall opening of its first store in Pennsylvania, at South Hills Village in Pittsburgh. 

[READ MORE: Von Maur named America’s best department store by Newsweek]

The retailer is also renovating its existing stores. In May, Von Maur announced plans to undertake an extensive, multi-phased renovation of its brick-and-mortar locations during the next several years. Von Maur said will it invest more than $100 million to showcase an entirely new interior aesthetic as as it continues to prioritize the shopping experience for its customers.

“As Von Maur has grown, new stores have evolved to reflect the trends present in residential design,” Jim von Maur, president of Von Maur, said in May. “It is important that we reinvest in our existing locations and bring those same updates to the customers that have been the bedrock of our success.”

Rite Aid is reportedly looking at its options.

The retail pharmacy chain is considering filing for bankruptcy for the second time in less than two years or selling some (or all) of its operations after its recent financial restructuring failed to put the company on “a sustainable path,” reported the Wall Street Journal.

If a sale doesn't materialize either inside or outside of bankruptcy, Rite Aid "stands at risk of liquidating more of its footprint," the WSJ report said.

Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy in October 2023, and emerged in September 2024 with a smaller footprint and a lot less debt. Through the Chapter 11 process, the company eliminated approximately $2.0 billion of total debt, closed hundreds of stores, and sold its pharmacy benefit company, Elixir.

Rite operated approximately 2,000-plus stores when it filed for bankruptcy in 2023. According to its website, Rite Aid currently operates 1,300-plus stores.

The company has hired New York-based law firm Paul, Weiss as an advisor, according to the WSJ.

A low-cost global shopping app is strengthening its product safety and compliance measures in a new partnership.

Temu, which is owned by Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings with U.S. headquarters in Boston, is teaming with Eurofins Consumer Product Testing and Eurofins Assurance, global providers of testing, inspection and certification services. 

This collaboration aims to support transparency in Temu's product safety processes, enhance quality control, and ensure that products sold on the platform meet safety and regulatory standards.

As part of this initiative, Eurofins Assurance will conduct independent inspection services across multiple Temu product categories, including textiles, apparel, jewelry, toys, outdoor furniture, and electrical products. These assessments will check that items available on Temu comply with relevant safety and quality regulations before reaching consumers.

In addition, Eurofins Consumer Product Testing will support Temu's seller onboarding process by carrying out product certification tests, such as Toy CPC (Children's Product Certificate), Adult Apparel GCC (General Certificate of Conformity), Outdoor Furniture GPSR EU EN581-1 Physical Safety Testing, and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) + RoHS Test Reports.

"At Temu, we are dedicated to providing a secure and reliable shopping experience," said a Temu spokesperson. "Strengthening our product safety measures is a key priority, and by working with Eurofins Consumer Product Testing and Eurofins Assurance, we are reinforcing our commitment to ensuring that products on our platform meet high safety and compliance standards."

[READ MORE: Temu opens platform to global retailers in new partnership]

Chief Temu rival Shein has also built and implemented a multi-faceted product safety protocol designed to help ensure product compliance with applicable laws and regulations, as well as the company’s own product safety standards.

Photo credit: Temu.

Instacart's business customers have access to a new white-label service designed to meet the needs of urgent, "fill-in" orders.

The grocery technology company’s Instacart Business subsidiary is launching Will Call Delivery, a new offering tailored for distributors and business operators in need of rapid fulfillment.

[READ MORE: Instacart launches business-to-business marketplace]

Will Call Delivery is a white-label solution built for distributors to streamline same-day ordering via their sales reps. Business-to-business and wholesale customers that need items fast can order from their sales reps as usual, and the sales reps can then request an Instacart shopper pick up specific, high-priority items from their warehouse and deliver to their end customers, all in a couple of clicks. 

In addition, in an effort to better address out-of-stocks or service customers that are far from the warehouse, distributors have the ability to place orders from retailers on the Instacart marketplace that are closer to their end customers. 

This personalized, targeted fulfillment option is designed for circumstances such as when a restaurant owner needs a case of limes or chicken breasts hours before the dinner rush.

All Instacart shoppers have access to comprehensive shopper educational modules covering a variety of food safety topics, including personal hygiene, cross-contamination, time/temperature control for safety (TCS) foods, and storage and transportation tips.

According to Instacart, it will be expanding Will Call Delivery and partnering with additional distributors in 2025 to bring the service, currently in pilot with select companies, to a wider group of businesses.

A new study looks at purchase data and shopping patterns at the country’s leading extreme discounters.

In 2024, 79% of U.S. households shopped at Dollar Tree at least once, while 60% of U.S. households shopped at Dollar General at least once, according to a report by Numerator.

The findings come as Dollar Tree has entered into an agreement to sell its Family Dollar business for $1 billion to private-equity investors Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management.

Here’s a look at the Numerator insights.

Dollar Tree

The average Dollar Tree shopper (includes Family Dollar) spent $290 at the retailer last year, making 20 purchases.

Also:

•Dollar Tree saw an 85% repeat rate for customers.

•38% of Dollar Tree shoppers live in suburban areas.

•Dollar Tree shoppers are 11% more likely to be boomers-plus and nine times more likely to be low-income compared to all U.S. consumers.

•Black and Hispanic consumers are more likely to shop at Dollar Tree compared to all U.S. consumers.

Dollar General 

The average Dollar General shopper spent $522 at the retailer last year, making 27 purchases. 

Also:

•Dollar General saw an 80% repeat rate for customers.

•Dollar General shoppers are 19% more likely to be boomers-plus and 14% more likely to be low-income compared to all U.S. consumers.

•White and Black consumers are more likely to shop at Dollar General, while Asian consumers are the least likely demographic to shop at the retailer, compared to all U.S. consumers.

•42% of Dollar General shoppers live in rural areas.

Numerator’s Retailer, Restaurant & Brand Snapshots provide a look at key shopping metrics and shopper profiles for a variety of U.S. retailers.

Prada Group also uses cloud-based solutions from Oracle Retail and Adobe to help collect and analyze customer data to enhance personalization and targeted promotions.

In addition, in summer 2024 the company began deploying the Adyen financial technology platform across all of its retail channels with the goal of creating unified customer experiences, including "tap to pay" payment.

[READ MORE: Prada Group offers mobile in-store payment, unifies sales channels]