Retail Stores

Ralph Lauren is the latest retailer to announce cuts in stores and layoffs. The fashion icon will be shedding jobs and closing stores as part of its new turnaround plan, the details of which will be unveiled on Tuesday when the company’s chief executive, Stefan Larsson, speaks with analysts. About 50 stores — mostly full-price locations —…

Michael Kors made headlines last week after an analyst from Wedbush reported that nearly half of Nordstrom stores had decided to stop selling the brand's handbags due to "waning interest from customers" and competition with Macy's because of its "constant discounting" of the product. Nordstrom Co-President Pete Nordstrom refuted the reports, sort of, telling WWD:…

Sears Holdings is looking for ways to squeeze much-needed money out of its most attractive remaining assets: its Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard appliance and tool brands. As the company reported yet another quarter of deep losses and comparable sales declines at its Kmart and namesake department stores, Sears said it was considering options for those…

Some millennials might cry into their kombucha when they learn that the first Whole Foods' 365 store doesn't have a tattoo parlor. The new Los Angeles grocery, Whole Foods' first in more than a dozen 365-branded stores the company is planning, has plenty of other eye-candy, which might prompt some millennials to get snap happy on…

Kroger has big expansion plans in 2016. How big? Enough to build both the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati and the Great American Tower at Queen City Square — five times. Enough to rebuild the Brent Spence Bridge — twice. Enough to buy Convergys and Chemed combined — not just the downtown buildings, but both entire companies. Kroger's not just…

Target has tapped its largest market, California, to test several potential changes to the look of its future stores. In a pilot program called "LA25," the discounter has taken its 35 top store enhancements that it's been testing across the country and put them all together in 25 stores in Los Angeles. Some of the enhancements include sleeker apparel…

Sports Authority will close all of its 450-plus stores across the United States after the bankrupt company wasn't able to secure a buyer, according to a new court filing. The Colorado-based retailer said it intended to close or sell 140 stores in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Sports Authority, which was once the largest sporting goods store…

Gap Inc said it would shut 75 Old Navy and Banana Republic stores in overseas markets as the struggling apparel retailer focuses on North America to revive its fortunes. Shares of the San Francisco-based company were up 4.2 percent in after-hours trading on Thursday. The store closures include all its 53 Old Navy outlets in Japan, the…

TJX Companies Inc. Chief Executive Ernie Herrman said Tuesday he's considering adding thousands of brick-and-mortar locations around the globe, bucking the trend of other retailers that are busy closing stores. “Long term, we see the potential to grow to 5,600 stores with just our current chains in just our current markets alone,” Herrman said on the…

It's well known that retail sales have regular cycles that can be disrupted by external events, such as federal elections. While anecdotally it's been suggested that uncertainty around elections causes shoppers to close their wallets and purses, there appears very little evidence either domestically or globally to support the claim that an election campaign will…