Management

Walgreens’ Designs Prove an Upgrade for Shoppers
October 14, 2014

Not long ago, you always knew where to find a Walgreens — at the corner of happy and homely. Walgreens’ banal, cookie-cutter buildings made one part of America indistinguishable from another. Inside were narrow, harshly-lit aisles piled high with merchandise. Squawking intercoms summoned you to the pharmacy. These days, the Deerfield, Ill.-based drugstore giant is writing a more sophisticated design prescription: Its latest crop of stores has a crisp contemporary look that's airy, roomy, even occasionally playful. The fresh approach extends to exteriors, which are no longer drab and interchangeable.

Luxottica Loses Second Chief Executive Following Board Dispute
October 13, 2014

Luxottica Group lost its second chief executive officer in little more than a month following a dispute about appointments to the board, according to a person familiar with the matter. Enrico Cavatorta will leave the world's largest eyewear company after a debate over the

J.C. Penney Names Home Depot Executive to Succeed CEO Ullman
October 13, 2014

J.C. Penney ended a year long search for a chief executive, naming retail industry veteran Marvin Ellison to replace interim CEO Myron Ullman in August 2015.The department store operator's shares rose 3.2 percent to $7.35 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange on

Cabela’s Takes Aim at Breast Cancer With Pink Ammo
October 10, 2014

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Cabela's is offering a slew of themed merchandise — including pink shotgun shells. A portion of sales of the Federal Ammunition brand shells goes to breast cancer research. "The box is pink and the actual hull of the shell is pink as well," said Derrek Shively, retail marketing manager at Cabela's Columbus, Ohio location. "It's pretty cool," Shively said. "You can still enjoy the outdoor lifestyle and support the cause. I never woulda' thunk."

Gap Chairman and CEO Murphy Stepping Down
October 9, 2014

Gap said late Wednesday that Glenn Murphy will resign as its chairman and chief executive on Feb. 1, and the retailer will promote its digital leader Art Peck to CEO. The San Francisco company, which operates Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic, said Wednesday that Murphy's resignation coincides with the end of its current fiscal year. He has been Gap's chairman and CEO since July 2007 and oversaw a turnaround that has lost steam in recent months.

At Polo Ralph Lauren, Riches for a New Generation
October 9, 2014

Gone are the ladies who lunch and the women who lampooned them — Elaine Stritch, Joan Rivers — but the girls who get coffee soldier on. There's already a small infantry forming at Ralph's, a white-tiled cafe on the second floor of Ralph Lauren's new Polo flagship. The communal table in the next room might have been wrested from Le Pain Quotidien, if not Central Perk, where the fictional Rachel Green on "Friends" worked two decades ago before being hired by Ralph Lauren, playing himself on the show in the spirit of good sport that oxygenates his entire enormous enterprise.

Optimism Shines as National Retail Federation Forecasts Holiday Sales to Increase 4.1%
October 7, 2014

After a turbulent start to 2014, the National Retail Federation announced today it expects sales in November and December (excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales) to increase a healthy 4.1 percent to $616.9 billion, higher than 2013's actual 3.1 percent increase during that same time frame. Holiday sales on average have grown 2.9 percent over the past

Wal-Mart Plans 1-Stop Health Coverage Shopping
October 7, 2014

Wal-Mart is taking one-stop shopping to another area: health insurance. The world's largest retailer plans to work with DirectHealth.com, an online health insurance comparison site and agency, to allow shoppers to

Sellers' Money Goes Missing on PayPal
October 2, 2014

Sellers all over the internet were scrambling when payments went missing from their PayPal accounts for hours on Oct. 1. And it impacted not just sellers on eBay, but on Etsy, Bonanza and even people who transferred their money from one account to another. Sellers reported the issue on Wednesday morning on the Ecommerce EKG board beginning at about 12:30 a.m. EST: "Item shows paid in eBay but payment is not in PayPal." There was no sign of an acknowledgement on the PayPal blog, on the PayPal discussion threads or on the AskPayPal Twitter account.

The Vendor's Guide to Trade Shows ... From a Retailer
October 2, 2014

I'm at the Shop.org Annual Summit in Seattle and having a great time catching up with old friends and colleagues, meeting new contacts, and learning about new digital marketing strategies and technologies. Also, as usual, as I walk through the exhibit hall I'm being greeted by smiling vendors, eager to share with me information about their latest and greatest shiny new objects. For the most part, I actually enjoy talking with vendors and learning about their wares. But I have noticed many folks — retailers, probably — with their badges turned the other way or tucked into their jackets, and I know why: they don’t want to be singled out and aggressively sold to by vendors.