Management

Under Armour to Cut 3% of Workforce
September 21, 2018 at 1:48 pm

Under Armour said Thursday its restructuring program will now cost more than it previously expected: it plans to cut about 400 jobs, or about 3 percent of its global workforce, by March. Under Armour said it now sees costs in the range of $200 million to $220 million tied to the restructuring effort, up from a…

Henri Bendel Closing All Stores, E-Commerce Site
September 17, 2018 at 2:44 pm

With a focus on increasing shareholder value, L Brands announced last week that it will be shuttering all 23 Henri Bendel stores and the Henri Bendel e-commerce website. The stores include Henri Bendel's Fifth Avenue flagship store as well as smaller-format stores in 11 states. All stores and the website will remain in operation through January 2019, with new merchandise continuing to arrive…

Want to Partner With Tasty? Read On.
September 14, 2018 at 2:34 pm

Who doesn’t love Tasty, BuzzFeed's buzzy online cooking video channel? Apparently, not many people. The go-to destination for recipe inspiration is now the world’s largest social food network with 73 billion lifetime video views. Currently, Tasty reaches 540 million people globally via social platforms including Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat; its website and app; and through…

Macy’s to Hire 80,000 Seasonal Workers This Year
September 12, 2018 at 1:30 pm

Macy's plans to hire 80,000 seasonal workers for positions at its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, call centers, distribution centers and online fulfillment centers nationwide for the 2018 holiday season, according to a company press release. Macy’s, which is forecasting a strong holiday shopping season, will staff 23,500 positions at its fulfillment centers to help with…

Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma to Step Down
September 10, 2018 at 2:23 pm

Alibaba announced on Monday that Jack Ma will step down as chairman of the board of the $420 billion e-commerce company on Sept. 10, 2019. At that time,  which is Alibaba’s 20th anniversary, Ma will be replaced by current CEO Daniel Zhang, an 11-year veteran of the company. Alibaba said Ma will continue as executive chairman over the next 12 months…

Trader Joe’s Success Formula and What Can Other Retailers Learn From It
September 6, 2018 at 12:46 pm

At the core of Trader Joe’s “modus operandi” is a focus on simplicity, better value and a fun shopping experience. The grocery retailer's success factors are there for everybody to observe and copy, yet nobody has been able to do so successfully. The company's founder, Joe Coulombe, was asked in 2006 by Coriolis Research if…

Retail Turns to AI to Curb Employee Turnover
August 31, 2018 at 12:45 pm

The rate of turnover in the retail industry (13 percent) is among the highest in the country — second only to the tech sector (software) at 13.2 percent. While the digitization of retail and advent of e-commerce is inevitably taking more workers off the sales floor and into back-channel positions (e.g., telecom sales reps), the…

Report: Google, Mastercard Cut Secret Deal to Track Retail Sales
August 31, 2018 at 12:03 pm

Google and Mastercard reportedly drafted a secret deal in which certain Google advertisers had access to data that shows if an online ad resulted in a purchase in a physical store. Bloomberg, citing four people with knowledge of the deal, reported that for the past year, select Google advertisers had access to a tool that tracks…

With More Store Closures Planned, is Sears Doomed?
August 31, 2018 at 11:38 am

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Caitlin Sullivan and Joe Keenan discuss what Sears latest round of store closures means for its future, as well as the steps the company can take to turn its fortunes around.

Report: Women CEOs Work Harder and Longer to Get to the Top
August 29, 2018 at 10:00 am

Women CEOs in all industries — including retail — worked harder and longer than their male counterparts to get to the top, according to a study of current and recent women CEOs conducted by Korn Ferry. The study found women CEOs were four years older, on average, than their male counterparts, and worked in a slightly higher number of roles, functions, companies and industries before getting the top job.