Merchandising

Amazon.com is tapping some of the biggest athletic apparel suppliers in existence to enter into the private-label sportswear industry, according to a report in Bloomberg. Makalot Industrial Co., a Taiwanese vendor that produces clothing for Gap Inc., Uniqlo and Kohl’s, is making apparel for the Amazon line, a person with knowledge of the arrangement told…

Beauty retailer Sephora has promoted Mary Beth Laughton to executive vice president of U.S. omni retail. Previously, Laughton was senior vice president of digital. “Mary Beth is a visionary and strategist with a deep understanding of how customers are evolving,” said Calvin McDonald, chief executive officer and president of Sephora Americas. “During her time at…

Matching the right product with the right customer requires creating and executing a tailored assortment in each location.

In episode 110 of Total Retail Talks, Gannon Hall, chief product officer at Spring, a mobile and online fashion retailer, discusses how the company is using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve its customers’ shopping experiences through more personalized merchandise recommendations. Learn how machine learning is helping Spring convert more visitors to its site and app.

Some suppliers to Toys“R”Us have scaled back shipments to the retailer as it struggles to refinance debt and avoid a potential bankruptcy filing, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The vendors are balking as Toys“R”Us continues talks with lenders over a new loan that would allow the retailer to stay open while it works…

Best Buy will no longer sell security software from Russian internet security company Kaspersky Lab after concerns that the company could be unduly influenced by the Russian government. This summer, the Moscow-based cybersecurity company has faced a series of allegations that it could be influenced by the Kremlin. Due to those concerns, Best Buy decided to stop…

Kmart’s new apparel ad campaign is all about celebrating — not marginalizing — “plus sized” women, while putting that full-figure label to rest for good. Kmart’s new "I Can” ad push fetes women of all shapes and sizes and marks the expansion of its signature brands (e.g., Joe Boxer, Basic Editions, Jaclyn Smith) to larger sizes…

Retailers are facing a tough combination of several major market forces: accelerated pace of innovation including digitization, increased competition, and more empowered customers. To grow — and to beat competition — it’s more important than ever that retailers offer customers the right products, in the right place at the right time. Fortunately, retailers can focus…

Thousands of new CPG products hit the shelves every year, but only a few succeed in capturing the hearts of consumers. With mass competition and limited shelf space, it’s exceptionally difficult to make a product shine. Product of the Year, the United States largest consumer survey of product innovation, is a leading authority in buying…

Secrets for optimizing inventory to maximize profits and best practices for inventory data management for multi-channel sellers.