Retail Stores

Robot Offering Glimpse of the Future on Display This Week
August 15, 2016 at 12:52 pm

If you happen to be in Palo Alto, Calif. this week, check out the small consumer electronics store B8ta. Why? You'll be able to get a glimpse of retailing's possible future via Pepper, a robot from SoftBank Robotics. The robot greets visitors when they enter the store and can answer specific questions about particular products. It also…

Bonobos May Open Guideshop in Detroit
August 15, 2016 at 12:31 pm

Men's retailer Bonobos is planning to open a store in Detroit, a development that would bring another higher-end clothing brand to a city that until recently lacked many such options. The New York City-based company has posted a help-wanted ad for its "upcoming Detroit location" that refers to that store's planned launch. Bonobos, which launched in 2007…

Macy's Closing 100 Locations in 2017
August 11, 2016 at 12:12 pm

Macy’s announced this morning that it will be closing about 100 stores as early as the beginning of 2017. Nearly all the locations are cash-flow positive, but their profitability has been steadily declining. These closures are part of the company's attempt to improve business, following six consecutive quarters of declining sales. Macy's currently has 728…

Michael Kors is Over Department Store Discounts
August 11, 2016 at 12:01 pm

Michael Kors isn't very happy with the excessive discounts department stores give on its products. CEO John Idol says that come February, the brand will no longer participate in family-and-friends sales or accept coupons for its products. Michael Kors plans to cut back on the amount of merchandise it ships to department stores in an…

Coach to Close Shops Inside Department Stores
August 9, 2016 at 11:45 am

Coach on Tuesday announced that it will shutter about 25 percent of its North American department store locations. Most of the locations tend to be low volume, according to the company, and the closings will be spread out in terms of geography. Coach will keep open its best-performing sites and avoid the stores that put its…

Mobile's Impact on Back-to-School Shopping
August 8, 2016 at 12:32 pm

In episode 47 of Total Retail Talks, Pat Dermody, president of Retale, a location-based mobile platform that helps shoppers save on purchases from their favorite retailers, discusses the key findings to emerge from the company's third annual "Back-to-School Mobile Shopper Report."

What You Missed at TRV 2016: A Tweet Roundup
August 4, 2016 at 10:55 am

Last month, Total Retail presented its annual Total Retail Virtual Conference & Expo (TRV), a virtual event for retailers that combined educational content and networking opportunities. It was a day-long conference that brought the latest retail trends, ideas and technologies right to your computer — for FREE. (If you missed the live date, don't worry. You can access all…

Hanna Andersson Acquired by Private Equity Firm
August 4, 2016 at 10:33 am

Children’s clothing company Hanna Andersson has been acquired by Connecticut-based private equity firm L Catterton. The terms of the deal aren't being disclosed, however, the firm said it plans to keep Hanna Andersson's management team, including CEO Adam Stone, who will continue to operate the business from its Portland, Maine headquarters. The children’s clothing retailer…

Office Depot to Close 300 More Stores
August 4, 2016 at 10:25 am

Office Depot announced it will need to close 300 more locations to put itself in a better position as a stand-alone company. The office supplies retailer closed 42 stores in the second quarter of this year as part of an earlier plan to close 400 locations. The newly announced closing of 300 stores is in…

GameStop Adds Over 500 AT&T Retail Locations
August 4, 2016 at 10:13 am

GameStop has added more than 500 AT&T authorized retail stores to its tech brands business. Cellular World Corp., Midwest Cellular Inc. and Red Sky Wireless Inc. have been acquired to bring GameStop’s total number of AT&T authorized stores to just over 1,400. This move is part of GameStop’s plan to generate $1 billion in revenue…