Merchandising

Wal-Mart to Host Holiday Parties in its Stores
November 2, 2017 at 12:43 pm

Wal-Mart is throwing 20,000 parties in its stores across the country in an attempt to attract more holiday shoppers. According to a company press release, the parties will take place on Nov. 4, Dec. 2 and Dec. 16, and will include 165,000 in-store toy demos, visits from Santa and other activities. The Nov. 4 party will…

How Wal-Mart is Using Data Visualization to Improve Business Decisions
October 27, 2017 at 1:21 pm

In a session this week at the Teradata Partners Conference in Anaheim, Calif., Stephen Brobst, chief technology officer of Teradata, and Heidi Daniels, director, analytics and visualization technologies, Wal-Mart, discussed how the retail chain is using visualization to turn data into action. Brobst kicked off the discussion by stressing the importance of making data visual…

Lord & Taylor Flagship Store Sold for $850M
October 25, 2017 at 12:53 pm

Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) said yesterday that it's selling its Lord & Taylor flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City for $850 million to WeWork Companies, a provider of shared workspace, community and services for entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups and small businesses. HBC is getting an equity investment of $500 million from Rhone Capital,…

Jet Launches Private-Label Brand, Uniquely J
October 24, 2017 at 12:15 pm

Jet.com launched its private-label business, Uniquely J, as it continues its push to tap urban millennials and its corporate parent Wal-Mart fortifies its fight against Amazon.com. Uniquely J will offer a variety of goods, including toilet paper, coffee and laundry detergent. In keeping with its focus on "metro millennials," Jet has placed emphasis on items that are…

How Kate Spade Uses Content to Clearly Communicate its Brand Message
October 17, 2017 at 10:31 am

When it comes to communicating Kate Spade's brand's voice, content is king. This was a key takeaway during a presentation by Mary Renner Beech, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Kate Spade & Company, at Luxury Interactive in New York City yesterday. "Clarity of brand voice still wins; we believe this very strongly at…

Amazon Getting Into the Sportswear Business
October 16, 2017 at 10:32 am

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…

Sephora Names Mary Beth Laughton EVP, US Omni Retail
October 11, 2017 at 2:13 pm

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…

Online Marketplace Spring Uses AI to Improve CX
September 18, 2017 at 2:59 pm

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.

Toys"R"Us Vendors Cut Shipments on Bankruptcy Fear
September 15, 2017 at 10:36 am

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…