aggregatedcontent

White House officials have agreed to meet with members of the retail industry to discuss issues associated with implementation of the health reform law, responding to the industry's July 2 letter urging the administration to immediately release “long overdue” regulations that would allow employers to move forward on the law's requirements. The most important policy issue for retailers is clarification of how the administration intends to define a “full-time employee,” said officials with the Retail Industry Leaders Association. 

Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen Co. has entered into an agreement to purchase a regional drugstore chain in the mid-South region of the United States from Stephen L. LaFrance Holdings Inc. The transaction includes 144 stores currently operated under the USA Drug, Super D Drug, May’s Drug, Med-X and Drug Warehouse banners. The stores are located in Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The acquisition also includes corporate offices, a distribution center located in Pine Bluff, Ark., and a wholesale and private brand business, for a total of approximately $438 million. The transaction is expected to close Sept.

Best Buy Co. appears to be taking a bite out of the Apple Store concept as it begins to implement its turnaround strategy.

Online-only and multichannel retailers both expect growth in the next year, according to new research from Eccomplish, which found about 73 percent of them are anticipating growing revenues anywhere between 1 and 20 percent. That compares with the 79 percent of multichannel retailers who expect the same growth, according to managementtoday.com

In today's business climate customers expect more from companies. The business value and risks are real. It is no longer how fast a business can respond to a customer but how well. 

New York -- Disappointing same-store sales results in June weren’t necessarily unexpected, as the month typically trends weaker as shoppers have fewer reasons to shop. Thomson Reuters, which polls 18 U.S. retail chains, projected its Same-Store Sales Index to inch up 0.5% in June, far below last year’s 6.7% rise for the month. Analysts have said that warm weather may have prompted consumers to make summer apparel purchases earlier than usual, shifting sales from later months like June. Just before the July 4th holiday, the International Council of Shopping Centers trimmed its earlier June same-store sales forecast of a

/PRNewswire/ -- The Cato Corporation (NYSE: CATO) today reported sales of $83.7 million for the five weeks ended June 30, 2012, a 7% decrease from sales of $90.4 million for the five weeks ended July 2, 2011. Same-store sales for the five-week period decreased 10%. Sales for the twenty-two weeks ended June 30, 2012 were $440.8 million, flat to sales of $442.0 million for the twenty-two weeks ended July 2, 2011. The Company's year-to-date same-store sales decreased 3%. "June same-store sales were below expectations," commented John Cato, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. "Year-to-date same-store sales results have been

As customer expectations rise, the number of platforms and devices explodes. And as senior management looks for ways to achieve higher and more efficient performance, the online merchandiser’s job grows increasingly complex.

As online shopping has surged, traditional retailers have lost millions in sales to so-called showrooming — when shoppers check out products in stores that they then buy from Web sites like Amazon. It has gotten so bad that Best Buy even replaces standard bar codes with special Best Buy-only codes on big ticket items so they cannot be scanned and compared online. Now some big retailers are taking a new approach to the dreaded showrooming by transforming their stores into extensions of their own online operations.