Retail Stores

The March jobs report is out and it's ugly. By far the ugliest component of the report was retail trade jobs, which plunged by 24,000. "The industry had added an average of 32,000 jobs per month over the prior six months," wrote the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its report. "In March, job declines occurred in clothing and clothing accessories stores (-15,000), building material and garden supply stores (-10,000), and electronics and appliance stores (-6,000)."

Samsung has thrown down another gauntlet in its battle with Apple. This time, the Korean electronics giant is going head-to-head with Apple stores by opening retail boutiques, called "Samsung Experience Shops," in 1,400 Best Buy locations by the beginning of June. Stores will start operating in all of Best Buy's big-box stores by May 1 and at smaller stores by June 1, around the same time as the Galaxy S4′s release date in the second quarter of this year.

Creativity abounds in today's retail world. Whether online or in brick-and-mortar, companies and people are creating new, innovative ways to bring their brands and visions to life. More importantly, they're redefining how customer acquisition can be achieved, often completely changing the playing field.

Artisan, creator of the industry's first mobile experience management platform, released research results underscoring the importance of mobile apps in retail marketing and mobile commerce. The results also highlight retailers’ mobile investment and growth intentions for 2013. In a survey of 200 retail executives responsible for mobile marketing and/or mobile commerce strategy, the majority of respondents said they expect significant mobile commerce growth in 2013 and view mobile apps as a top channel for engaging with consumers.

Michelle Obama visited a Wal-Mart in February to extol the fresh, healthy food in the company's grocery aisles. But Wal-Mart, Ms. Obama's corporate partner in a campaign to make food healthier and more affordable, has been running into problems with food that's not so fresh. Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer and grocer, has cut so many employees that it no longer has enough workers to stock its shelves properly, according to some employees and industry analysts.

Facing a wave of employee theft, retailers across the country have helped amass vast databases of workers accused of stealing and are using that information to keep employees from working again in the industry. The repositories of information, like First Advantage Corporation's Esteem database, often contain scant details about suspected thefts and routinely do not involve criminal charges. Still, the information can be enough to scuttle a job candidate's chances.

It's been a rude introduction to the spring selling season for retailers, which a year ago saw sales jump, thanks to the warmest March in more than 100 years. "For most businesses, spring sprung early in 2012, providing a great start to the season with strong traffic and increased opportunities to move more of their seasonal inventories at regular-price levels," said David Frieberg, VP-marketing at Planalytics

Following up on a report that American Apparel was making money for the first time in several years, WWD reports that the company's CEO, chairman and frequent PR liability, Dov Charney, got a major raise. How major? From a mere $800,000 to $2 million in cash. His stock awards totaling nearly $12.5 million, however, will be awarded to him only if the company reaches certain target profits in time for other shareholders to vote in June.

Toys"R"Us has decided not to offer their shares publicly, as they had initially planned. In a Friday press release, the nation's biggest toy seller said they were withdrawing their IPO "due to unfavorable market conditions, and the company's recently announced executive leadership transition." But Friday also saw the company report miserable fourth-quarter earnings. Not only did company's net income slide 30 percent on a light drop in revenue, but U.S. sales dropped by two percent. And probably worst of all, same store sales plummeted 4.5 percent from the year prior.

Last Monday, Dollar General, the nation's largest dollar store chain, posted a better-than-expected profit, helping boost the company's stock, which is up 15 percent year to date. And earlier this year, the discount retailer announced plans to open its 11,000th store by the end of the 2013, an impressive figure for a discount retailer. The only other companies to boast store counts that high are fast-food chains like McDonald's and Subway. And Dollar General isn't the only dollar chain to have had success in recent years.