Management

Walmart announced Thursday that it's eliminating the president position at Jet.com and folding the e-commerce company's divisions into its own. The reorganization is part of an effort to merge the brands after Walmart bought Jet for $3.3 billion three years ago. Walmart current Jet President Simon Belsham will oversee the transition through August before his position is eliminated. Reportedly,…

Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) announced today that its board of directors has formed a committee of independent directors to review a proposal from a group of HBC shareholders who would like to take the company private at $9.45 per share. The shareholders, who collectively own 57 percent of the company, include HBC Governor and Executive…

Walmart has hired Scott Eckert to run its investment arm and startup incubator, Store No. 8, according to an internal memo from Marc Lore, the retailer's head of e-commerce on Monday, and obtained by Reuters. Eckert is a former executive of Bain Capital Ventures, where he evaluated potential new investments and advised CEOs about existing…

Flower-delivery provider FTD Cos. filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, with plans to auction off its businesses while paying down debt. The company began restructuring and reviewing strategic alternatives last year. FTD warned in March that it could go out of business or shrink its operations this summer…

Sephora will be closing all of its stores in the U.S. for "inclusion workshops" on Wed., June 5. In a post on Sephora's Facebook page, the beauty retailer announced that on the morning of June 5, "every Sephora store, distribution center, and corporate office in the U.S. will close to host inclusion workshops for our…

In this week's Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Joe Keenan and Kristina Stidham discuss the recent moves by Kohl’s to diversify its business in response to challenges facing traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, particularly department stores. Within recent months, Kohl’s announced that it was exploring acquiring home decor retail chain At Home Group Inc., partnered with Fanatics to sell…

As “relevance” increasingly becomes the core competitive battleground for consumer brands, companies are being challenged to create products, services and experiences that meet customers’ individual needs at just the right moment. That’s changing the rules of the game, and overturning decades of conventional industry wisdom. The key change? The balance of power between brands and…

Ascena Retail Group announced yesterday that it’s winding down its dressbarn business and plans to shut all 650 or so of the women’s clothing stores in order to focus on its more profitable brands. Ascena, which also owns apparel chains Ann Taylor and Loft, noted that the “dressbarn chain has not been operating at an…

Kohl’s announced that it has signed a long-term deal with Fanatics to sell the sports retailer's licensed gear exclusively on Kohls.com, starting this fall. Fanatics had already been a wholesale partner of Kohl’s. The new deal, however, will enable Kohl's online shoppers access to hundreds of thousands of items across team apparel, jerseys and additional merchandise for men,…

Bed Bath & Beyond announced today that its CEO Steven Temares is stepping down, amid increasing pressure from activist investors pushing for changes at the company. Mary Winston, who was recently named to Bed Bath & Beyond's board, will serve as interim CEO until a replacement is found. The company said Temares is also resigning from Bed Bath…