Merchandising

Kohl's said Thursday it would bring discount grocer Aldi into as many as 10 of its stores later this year in a pilot test. The department store chain aims to scale down its real estate footprint and leverage space for other brands, including Aldi. It was reported in January that Kohl's was thinking about not…

Walmart said yesterday that it's raising its age restriction to 21 for firearm and ammunition purchases. In  a statement published on its website yesterday, the retailer said it made the decision in light of recent events and will try to implement this change "as quickly as possible." Walmart also pointed out that in 2015 it ended sales of certain sporting rifles…

Dick’s Sporting Goods announced Wednesday that it was immediately ending sales of all assault-style rifles in its stores. According to The New York Times, the retailer said that it would no longer sell high-capacity magazines and that it would not sell any gun to anyone under 21 years of age, regardless of local laws. Starting…

Recently, Hubba, a global B-to-B commerce network, examined the trends impacting the retail economy and released a new whitepaper, The Curated Future - why less selection, not more, will be the defining retail trend of 2018. The study explores the past, present and future state of the retail industry, as well as the tools needed to…

Crate and Barrel is relaunching its brand for kids, moving merchandise inside its stores to capture the attention of shoppers even before they consider starting a family. The home furnishings retailer is renaming Land of Nod, which operated five standalone stores and two outlets, as Crate & Kids, according to a report in Bloomberg. Crate & Kids…

Walmart is introducing new low-cost apparel brands for women, kids and plus-size customers — and phasing out older brands — in an effort to lure shoppers away from Amazon.com, which is steadily increasing its apparel sales, according to a Bloomberg report. The store brands include Time and Tru in ladieswear, which will replace the jettisoned DanskinNow label,…

Don’t miss this webinar to learn how to protect your business from costly overstocks, out-of-stocks and returns.

Macy's announced this week that it will be opening pop-up shops in its stores in a new marketplace concept called "The Market @ Macy's." The new storefront layout gives pods of space to brands and companies on the Macy’s ground floor to promote and sell their products. CNBC reports the idea is to give Macy’s customers…

Retail is in a constant state of death and rebirth. The Curated Future examines retail's next big trend — curation over selection. As digitally native brands continue to flood an already saturated market, this research report looks at the impact on consumers. Frustrated, consumers are increasingly turning to a trusted voice — retailers — to curate a selection of products aimed directly at a defined consumer type.

Amazon.com has more customer search and purchase data than any e-commerce business. It can build a private-label brand in six months using these data. Amazon’s private-label products have access to the best merchandising and targeting on the marketplace. And the brand doesn’t even need to be profitable. How do national brands compete with this? According…