Management
April 27, 2018 at 11:33 am
While in New York City recently, I had the opportunity to interview Martin Gilliard, chief information officer, senior executive vice president at Barneys New York. I'm excited to share his fresh perspective on retail and the ever-evolving role of CIOs, which is informed by his expertise in technology and other diverse studies. Holly Vander Wall:…
April 24, 2018 at 9:49 am
Walmart is testing a new dress code that gives employees more freedom in what they can wear on the job. Under the pilot program, which has been rolled out to fewer than 100 stores, workers can wear solid color blue jeans instead of khaki-colored or black denim pants. They also can wear a solid-color shirt of…
April 24, 2018 at 9:08 am
Discount apparel brand Old Navy will add 60 more stores across the U.S. this year, pushing its total to more than 1,000 locations. Gap Inc., which owns Old Navy as well as the flagship Gap banner, Banana Republic and Athleta, currently operates more than 3,500 stores globally. Meanwhile, Gap Inc. is trimming back its fleet…
April 23, 2018 at 3:16 pm
In episode 141 of Total Retail Talks, Total Retail's Editor-in-Chief Melissa Campanelli interviews Rachel Blumenthal, founder and CEO of Rockets of Awesome. The interview covers a wide range of topics, from subscription commerce to the brand growth's strategy and much more. This episode was recorded live at our Total Retail Roundtable in New York City…
April 23, 2018 at 2:46 pm
ESL Investments, the hedge fund led by Sears Holdings CEO Eddie Lampert, is proposing to buy the Kenmore brand, Sears' Home Improvement business, its PartsDirect division and some of the chain's real estate. In a letter to Sears’ board on Friday, ESL said: "We continue to see value in Sears and its underlying assets, and believe strongly…
April 23, 2018 at 2:02 pm
A combination of greater consumer discretion and the infinite accessibility granted by the information age has resulted in an era that demands transparency from businesses. Sometimes referred to as corporate transparency, this approach allows a company’s actions to be visible and accessible to people both inside and outside the organization. But why is this so…
April 19, 2018 at 4:09 pm
Toys“R”Us Inc.’s lawyers and advisers have shot down an 11th-hour offer from a billionaire toy maker that would have kept some of its U.S. stores open, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal reports that Isaac Larian, founder of Bratz dolls maker MGA Entertainment, Inc., came forward last week with a…
April 17, 2018 at 5:07 pm
In a keynote presentation yesterday at the Women in Retail Leadership Summit in Miami, Paula Bennett, the recently retired (as of this week) CEO of J.Jill, discussed her career journey and the principles that shaped it along the way. (Synchrony, a consumer financial services company delivering customized financing programs across retail and other industries, is…
April 17, 2018 at 11:21 am
The only two bids at the start of a bankruptcy auction for department store chain Bon-Ton Stores Inc. were from liquidators, signaling the end for the company, according to reports Tuesday morning. Reuters said Bon-Ton will go out of business without a bid from a going-concern bidder. The New York research firm Reorg Research, also…
April 13, 2018 at 10:43 am
Supermarket giant Kroger announced plans this week to hire about 11,000 workers even as it faces heated competition from Walmart and Amazon.com. It's the latest wave of hires for Kroger, which has created 22,000 positions in the past two years. Kroger operates more than 2,700 groceries in 35 states under a variety of names, including Smith's, Fred…
