News Briefs

A growing pet grooming chain has reached a new milestone as it continues its expansion.

Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming has opened its 300th location with a new store in Middleton, Fla., part of the growing The Villages community just outside Orlando. It is the third Woof Gang location opened by longtime franchise partners Beth and Woody Whitcomb.

Founded in 2007, Woof Gang told Chain Store Age that its goal is to scale to more than 450 locations across North America by 2027. In the past two years, the brand has entered into major new markets including California and Illinois, in addition to making its debut in Canada.

In addition to offering a “personalized, salon-style experience" for dogs, Woof Gang sells exclusive gourmet treats, premium pet food and curated supplies.

[READ MORE: Pet Supplies Plus, Wag N' Wash open 18 new stores in 2025]

“The opening of our 300th location is a major moment, not just for our brand, but for what it represents,” said Ricardo Azevedo, CEO of Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming. “The Whitcombs have helped shape who we are, and how we show up for pets and people. Their passion and leadership continue to influence how we support our franchisees, connect with communities and grow with purpose.”

Nordstrom continues to expand the footprint of its off-price division.

The department store retailer will open a Nordstrom Rack in Bath Township, Ohio, in fall 2026. The 29,000-sq.-ft. store will be located in Montrose Plaza shopping center, which is owned and managed by Albrecht Inc. Nordstrom currently operates three full-price stores and eight Nordstrom Rack stores in Ohio.

Also in fall 2026, Nordstrom Rack will open Park City, Utah. The store will be located at Junction Commons shopping center, which is owned by Singerman Real Estate. Nordstrom currently operates two full-price stores and four Nordstrom Rack stores in Utah.

Earlier this month, Nordstrom said it would open new Nordstrom Rack locations in two Philadelphia suburbs, Exton and Media, in fall 2026.

The retailer operates nearly 400 Nordstrom, Nordstrom Local and Nordstrom Rack locations nationwide.

eBay Inc. is placing some restrictions on how artificial intelligence agents can shop its site.

In an emailed statement to Chain Store Age, an eBay spokesperson said the company periodically updates its user agreement regulating how automated systems interact with the retailer.

"Unauthorized agentic tools and bots are not permitted to access or take actions on our platform," the spokesperson said in the email. "These rules help keep interactions predictable and safe, so we can protect buyers and sellers, apply appropriate safeguard and usage limits, and maintain a reliable experience. We continue to explore the best use cases for agentic commerce both on and off our platform, to best serve our customers."

According to Value Added Resource, eBay is updating its anti-scraping prohibition to clarify that it specifically also includes agentic AI bots that complete transactions independently of the customer large language models. eBay is prohibiting AI shopping agents such as Amazon "Buy for Me” and LLM scraping bots from interacting with the platform without its permission.

eBay began making a new shopping agent with agentic AI functionality available to U.S. shoppers in May 2025. The agentic AI shopping assistant delivers real-time, hyper-personalized product picks and expert guidance based on a customer’s shopping preferences as they explore the eBay site. 

[READ MORE: eBay assists shoppers with agentic AI tool]

However, that tool does not complete purchases automatically for shoppers. Interestingly, eBay also participated in the research preview of Operator, an agentic AI solution from OpenAI, developer of the ChatGPT generative AI model. To use Operator, consumers describe the task they would like performed, such as locating a desired product to purchase, and Operator automatically handles the rest.

The parent company of Edible Arrangements has promoted one of its C-suite leaders to a new role.

Edible Brands has named Angela Johnson as its new chief marketing officer, tasked with overseeing marketing and product innovation across the company’s portfolio. Johnson joined Edible Brands in 2021 and has served as chief strategy & innovation officer since. She will focus on strong retail and restaurant execution across the portfolio and support of locally owned franchise partners, according to the company.

"Angela has been instrumental in shaping how we think about growth, innovation and relevance across our brands," said Somia Farid Silber, CEO of Edible Brands. "She brings a rare ability to connect strategy, product innovation and brand storytelling in a way that delivers real impact. This expanded role reflects both her proven leadership and our confidence in her ability to bring marketing and innovation together to support continued growth.”

Prior to joining Edible Brands, Johnson served as VP of marketing at regional quick-serve chain Krystal Restaurants LLC, and spent nearly seven years with the company. She is credited with leading the launch of third-party delivery and online ordering, expanding access and convenience while driving growth.

"As Edible Brands continues to expand across celebration, nourishment and wellness, this role creates an opportunity to more closely connect brand storytelling with product innovation and execution," said Johnson. "I'm excited to build on the strong foundation already in place and work alongside this team to create experiences that feel relevant, modern and meaningful for today's consumers."

[READ MORE: Edible Arrangements parent goes national with THC wellness platform]

Headquartered in Atlanta, Edible Brands' growing portfolio includes Edible Arrangements, Edibles.com and Rōti Modern Mediterranean.

Chain Store Age is now accepting nominations for its Retail’s Top Women Awards in store design, construction and facilities management.

The award winners will be honored at CSA’s SPECS Show, which will be held March 8-10, at the Gaylord National in National Harbor, Md., which is just outside of Washington, D.C.

Nominations are open to women employed in all sectors of the retail industry, including department stores, discounters, grocers, specialty stores, convenience stores and more. (Only women who work in a senior or executive role for a retail company are eligible.)

Please send nominations to Deena Amato-McCoy, SPECS program director, at [email protected].

The nomination should include:

•Nominee’s name, company and professional title;

•Nominee’s email address; and

•A brief description (bullet points are fine) about their current responsibilities and why they should be honored. Please include any recent achievements.

The deadline for nominations is Feb. 4. Please contact Deena Amato-McCoy with any questions. 

Here is the list of last year's award winners.

•Catherine Barnes, VP, facilities, energy and store development, Rite Aid

•April Crofford, senior director - store facilities management, Dollar General

•Juliana Gois, global real estate director, Nike

•Heather Lindsay, director of construction, Academy Sports + Outdoors

•Nancy Myers, director facilities and equipment maintenance, Schnuck Markets

•Nicole Price, facilities manager, MillerKnoll

•Megan Schimmelpfenning, senior design manager, Heartland Dental

•Ann Scott, senior director, electric vehicle charging and utilities, 7-Eleven

•Amy Ward, director store design and planning, Schnuck Markets.

Cineplex is utilizing machine learning and artificial intelligence in an effort to make online promotions more relevant to customers.

The operator of 171 movie theaters and location-based entertainment venues across Canada has integrated AI-based technology from Rokt into its online checkout experience to surface relevant, exclusive non-endemic content and offers from brands it doesn’t sell to customers. 

U.S. sports merchandise brand Fanatics is also partnering with Rokt to help ensure online shoppers see content and promotions that matter to them.

[READ MORE: Fanatics leverages AI to deliver relevant online offers]

"At Cineplex, we're always looking for innovative ways to elevate the guest experience both in our theatres and across our digital platforms," said Kristie Painting, Executive Vice President, Cineplex Media. "By partnering with Rokt, we can deliver more relevant messages to our moviegoers while unlocking new revenue opportunities. We're excited about how this collaboration will enhance the customer journey and drive meaningful engagement."

Cineplex operates banners including The Rec Room food and entertainment centers, Playdium teen/family complexes, and the Cineplex Junction entertainment concept combining movies, amusement gaming, dining, and live performances. It also the Cineplex Media cinema banner, Cineplex Events alternative programming provider, and motion picture distributor Cineplex Pictures. Cineplex is a partner in Scene+, Canada's largest entertainment and lifestyle loyalty program.