Merchandising

The appointment of Jeff Gennette as president of Macy's is a giant step in the right direction for the department store industry. Macy's has always been a great merchandising organization and Mr. Gennette continues that legacy. It's through merchandise that the customer experiences Macy's mission to offer value, fashion and service. The future growth of retailing in general, and Macy's in particular, depends on how well an organization merchandises its offering across various channels of distribution.

This webinar discusses the trends that are impacting the world of omnichannel eCommerce and how you can deal with them.

The competition for used video games is heating up as the world's largest retailer enters the arena starting next week. Wal-Mart said Tuesday it would allow consumers to come into its stores and trade in used video games for an e-gift card for use on any item sold in Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores and online. Later this year, Wal-Mart will resell the pre-owned games in-store and online, after the games have been refurbished by CE Exchange. Wal-Mart currently works with CE Exchange on its smartphone and tablet trade-in programs.

The Bible famously recounts a moment when Jesus Christ turns water into wine during a wedding he, his mother and his apostles attend at Cana, in Galilee. He asks servants to fetch six great stone water jars and to fill them. When they carry the jars to the host's table, he's surprised to taste not water, but wine. Jesus goes onto perform another 36 miracles before his death. Good taste suggests leaving the idea of drinking and Jesus here. But that hasn't stopped Urban Outfitters from dreaming up its latest creation.

In a session yesterday at the NEMOA directXchange conference in Boston, Frank Oliver, product design and development manager at Gardener's Supply Co., an omnichannel retailer of gardening tools, presented his three rings for merchandising survival.

In December, EcommerceBytes took a look at Amazon.com's activities in the 3-D printing space and how 3-D printers could impact retail and e-commerce. Now comes news that Amazon has set up a new division selling 3-D printed products in partnership with five companies. The Cincinnati Business Courier broke the news yesterday about what it calls a new pilot program to sell 3-D printed products in four categories: toys, home accessories and decor items, jewelry, and fashion/tech accessories. Amazon has sold 3-D printers and supplies for some time, and third-party merchants are already listing 3-D printed objects on Amazon independently.

The long-awaited earnings release and conference call of J.C. Penney's annual sales and earnings result yesterday gave an outline of the strategies the company will follow in order to be a winner. The 2013 results were impacted by the folly of the Ron Johnson era. There was merchandise that consumers didn't want that had to be marked down in order to make room for iconic brands that had been discontinued. The company's performance was also affected, as were all retailers, by the brutal weather that forced the closing of dozens of stores throughout the Central and Northern states. 

"There's more to life than furniture" declares a bold headline in a recent Ikea catalog. Perhaps a somewhat surprising statement from the world's leading home furnishings company. But if you know Ikea, then you know that it positions itself as "life improvers."

When Macy's reports fourth-quarter results tomorrow, there may be some commentary about weak sales of Martha Stewart merchandise in its home department. At least that's what Macy's said last month in a court filing seeking damages from J.C. Penney in a two-year-old lawsuit. "Post-trial sales have now taken place, and the sales figures show that the effect of J.C. Penney's conduct on Macy's sale of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia goods was substantial," Macy's lawyers said. 

The much-maligned suit worn by the U.S. speedskating team should never have been victimized, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank says in an exclusive interview. "It was a bit of a witch hunt that began to build," he says, in his first extensive interview since the Under Armour suit became a scapegoat for the failure of U.S. speedskaters to win Olympic medals. "The suit became the witch." Plank is so certain that the "Mach 39" suit is a winner that Under Armour will continue to invest in it and tweak it until the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea.