Retail News
NRF: Retail Sales Will Rise 3.4% in 2012
Retail industry sales will rise 3.4% to $2.53 trillion in 2012, according to the National Retail Federation. That's slightly lower than the pace of 2011, in which sales grew 4.7%. ...
Sears Holdings Gets Drilled: Closing up to 120 Stores
Sears Holdings did not have a happy holiday, according to guidance it released this morning. The department store and discount store retailer said it will close between 100 and 120 Kmart and Sears full-line stores....
Amazon Encouraging Mobile Shopping In-Store
The warning signs about confident consumers shopping on Amazon while browsing your store's merchandise have been evident, and now the ecommerce giant is encouraging smartphone owners to do so....
Reports Show Mobile Payments Are Catching On
Consumers on the go are using their smartphones to pay for items they buy in a bricks-and-mortar environment, according to reports released by retailers this week....
Holiday Spending on Gift Cards to be Highest Since 2007
For the fifth year in a row, gift cards top Christmas wish lists. And the trend is only growing. Consumers are expected to spend an average $155.43 on the cards, the highest amount since 2007 and up from $145.61 last year. Total spending? A whopping $27.8 billion, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2011 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions survey conducted by BIGresearch, released last month....
NRF Says Black Friday Weekend Is a Record-breaker
Black Friday weekend is not over yet, but the National Retail Federation is projecting a record-breaking shopping weekend. According to a National Retail Federation survey conducted by BIGresearch over the weekend, traffic and spending were up both online and in stores....
Black Friday: Were Early Openings a Success?
NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay says early morning openings appear to have been well worth it for both retailers and holiday shoppers... but police reports across the country paint a different picture. ...
Opinion: Small Business Saturday is All About American Express
No matter how you look at it, and despite its denial, Small Business Saturday is all about American Express....
Survey Says Kohl's is Top Fashion Retailer
Kohl’s is the nation’s favorite fashion retail chain for the third year in a row, according to an annual consumer survey conducted by customer intelligence solutions provider Market Force Information. Nordstrom ranked as consumers’ second favorite, followed by Macy’s, Dillard’s and JCPenney. ...
Sur La Table Sold
Gourmet kitchenware merchant Sur La Table has been acquired by investment bank Investcorp. ...
Williams-Sonoma Looking to London
Williams-Sonoma has set its sights on the U.K.: The kitchen/home goods retailer will open stores in London sometime next year, according to published reports...
Harry & David Gets Funds, Needs A Plan
Now that Harry & David Holdings received approval for a $310 million financial bailout from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, what’s next for the troubled of food and gifts merchant? ...
Deal–Of-The-Day Programs For the Contact Center
Website promotions that offer daily deals are hot, but can you implement them in your call center? Absolutely, according to Chris Hansen, vice president of horticultural products merchant GreatGardenPlants.com...
Shareholders Approve J. Crew Deal
Now, it's actually over. The deal that started back in November when the J. Crew Group announced it was being acquired by funds affiliated with TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners...
Borders Files Chapter 11
Borders Files Chapter 11...
Still Waiting on J. Crew Sale
Will J. Crew ever reach a deal to be sold? The revised "go-shop" period for the apparel cataloger/retailer to consider other bids for its business ends Feb. 15. But it doesn't look like a final decision will be made by then...
H&M Tweets Plans to Launch U.S. Ecommerce Site
Swedish fashion apparel retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) is a little late to the plate when it comes to ecommerce...
Savory Holiday for Lake Champlain Chocolates
It was a Happy New Year for Lake Champlain Chocolates after the candy merchant tallied up its holiday sales results...
Fashion Merchants Need to Adjust to Gift Card Recipients
If you sell apparel and accessories to teens, you’d better be prepared to adjust your post-holiday inventory quickly, according to a speaker at the Retail Marketing Society's Christmas 2010 Retail Forecast Conference in New York on Oct. 29. ...
CompUSA Makes Retail Stores Multichannel
Gilbert Fiorentino, chief executive of Systemax Technology Worldwide, said he's seen this connection between the Internet and retail help Systemax's 39 CompUSA stores. By creating as many touch-points with the Internet as possible on the sales floor, CompUSA saw a 20% increase in in-store conversions in 2009....
Walk the line—What can black do for your brand?
If I were to say, The Man in Black, who would you think of? If you're a music fan, chances are country legend Johnny Cash would come to mind. How can...
Sears Stores to House Edwin Watts Golf Shops
Sears Holdings Corp. has signed a multiyear agreement with Edwin Watts Golf Shops to open 12 branded specialty golf stores in select Sears locations. ...
Penney Presents Five-Year Plan
J.C. Penney last week outlined a five-year operational and financial plan, focusing on top-line growth and expanding market share. ...
