Management

Sears Auto Centers, a division of Sears Holdings Corp., said earlier today that it will expand its partnership with Amazon.com that provides tire installation for customers who purchase any brand of tires on Amazon, including its own DieHard brand. Initially launched at 47 Sears Auto Centers in eight metropolitan areas in May, the Ship-to-Store tire…

Sears Holdings said this week it's shuttering 46 more stores in November. The locations are spread across the United States. Liquidation sales at 33 Sears stores and 13 Kmart locations are expected to begin next week, according to Sears. The company also said that eligible workers will receive severance and be able to apply for openings…

This week, Lowe's announced it would close all Orchard Supply Hardware stores nationwide by Feb. 1. Lowe's is closing the stores to focus on its core home improvement business, the company said. USA Today reports employees were told about the decision Tuesday. Lowe's acquired Orchard Supply Hardware in 2013 out of bankruptcy. The brand had been…

Best Buy announced last week that it will pay $800 million to acquire GreatCall, a company that offers health and medical-alert services to 900,000 older Americans. GreatCall offers seniors several products, including portable medical-alert devices and easy-to-use mobile phones, that provide access to urgent-response teams, doctors and nurses, as well as offer reminders to take medications. The acquisition…

Change is hard and, for many, not well received. When change happens fast, people tend to reject it and hold onto the control they're familiar with, often creating new unexpected conflicts. Marketing teams and IT departments are now blended in the wake of the migration of web content from “infrastructure” to “marketing asset,” and the…

Google is planning to open a two-level store in Chicago’s Fulton Market district, its first known location for a retail flagship, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. According to the report, the technology giant is close to finalizing a lease for almost 14,000 square feet on the first and second floors of several connected,…

There's no doubt that even as 2018 shapes up to be a great year for small, independent retailers, it takes a lot to open, run and manage a small business. On top of managing a brick-and-mortar location, retailers have an e-commerce channel to consider, new digital forms of payment, and the need to drive repeat…

Eddie Lampert, CEO and majority shareholder of Sears, announced this week that his hedge fund company, ESL Investments, has offered to pay $400 million for the retailer's Kenmore appliances brand. CNBC reports Lampert is prepared to close on the deal in as little as 60 days to 90 days. "Speed and certainty here are critical," Lampert…

VF Corporation announced on Monday that it planned to spin out its denim brands — Lee, Wrangler — into a separate publicly traded business, enabling it to better focus on its faster-growing activewear and lifestyle clothing lines like The North Face and Vans. VF has spent much of the past two decades diversifying away from…

Two women have filed a class-action lawsuit against Nike Inc., alleging it discriminated against them in pay and career advancement, according to a report in Friday's Wall Street Journal. The suit was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., by two former employees, Kelly Cahill and Sara Johnston, who said that they endured a…