Retail Stores

Best Buy announced Tuesday it's expanding the Best Buy Mobile brand and store-within-a-store concept into 14 five-star stores throughout Nanjing, China, this summer. The expansion of Best Buy Mobile into the Chinese market is the first evolution of Global Connect, a partnership that was formed in November 2011 between Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse. "The launch of Best Buy Mobile in China is a true global effort,” said Shari Ballard, president, international for Best Buy. 

Despite reporting an uptick in organized retail crime, the National Retail Federation (NRF) revealed that retail theft rates decreased in 2011, according to preliminary results of the organization's latest National Retail Security survey. The results, which were presented at the NRF's Loss Prevention Conference and Expo in New Orleans, revealed that retail shrinkage — a loss of inventory due to employee theft, shoplifting, paperwork errors or supplier fraud — decreased to 1.41 percent of retail sales in 2011 ($34.5 billion), down from 1.49 percent in 2010 ($37.1 billion). 

The Children's Place announced that it's signed a 10-year franchise agreement with Fawaz A. AlHokair & Co. SJSC, known as "Fashion Retail," to open stores across Saudi Arabia. The first two stores are scheduled to open during the second quarter of 2012. Jane Elfers, president and CEO of The Children's Place, stated, "We are very excited to begin our international expansion beyond North America with a number of stores opening in Saudi Arabia this year."

Ritz Camera & Image, which calls itself the largest U.S. chain of specialty camera shops, filed for bankruptcy for the second time in three years after the founding family failed to turn around the 94-year-old retailer. Ritz listed debt and assets of at least $50 million each in Chapter 11 court papers in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware. The company, with sales of $254 million in the 12 months before April 30, said it wasn't making enough money to justify keeping open all its 265 stores.

Technology and infrastructure investments will account for 50 percent of Pier 1 Imports’ $70 million to $75 million in planned capital expenditures this year. The retailer will have a lot of IT-enabled activity to show for its money. Two of the biggest elements are the July 28 launch of Pier 1's new e-commerce site and the planned rollout of its new point-of-sale system beginning this fall. "We're working diligently towards the implementation of our new point-of-sale system which we expect to pilot in a handful of stores this fall," said Pier 1 CEO Alexander Smith during a recent conference call. 

Bazaarvoice released the fourth edition of The Conversation Index, its quarterly research series that turns millions of consumer conversations into a strong data signal for brands and marketers. Derived entirely from first-person input from people across the globe, every edition of The Conversation Index provides tangible ways for brands to improve sales, loyalty and products.

Colonial Candle is opening its first retail and research boutique in Charleston, S.C. The 3,000 square-foot flagship store is the 103-year-old candle company's first and only boutique. Located in Charleston's most exclusive shopping location, The Shops at Charleston Place, the Colonial Candle boutique joins an exclusive collection of world-renowned luxury brands including Godiva, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Lacoste. The flagship store will feature Colonial Candle's complete line, including the brand's signature oval jars in 70 fragrances, tapers in more than 20 colors, a luxury collection and home accessories.

Ubiquitous connectivity allows consumers to easily check prices and buy on the go, which should worry (not terrify) traditional retailers in competitive categories. This "showrooming effect," which has been encouraged by Amazon, would enable web retailers to snatch some sales from the hands of their brick-and-mortar competition. A majority of sales are still happening offline, so the fear of showrooming - that most people are finding screaming deals online - is exaggerated. In fact, the majority of transactions still happen in stores, even when shoppers research online (yes, even when they've got their mobile devices in hand in a store

New York-based Oscar de la Renta is expanding the retail side of its business, according to Women's Wear Daily. This fall, its Madison Avenue flagship will double in size to 4,000 sq. ft., and the company will open its first-ever location in London. Additionally, after the success of the designer’s compact boutique format in the Dominican Republic’s Punta Cana, the company is considering using a similar concept in more locales. Oscar de la Renta also is considering a retail presence in airports, and perhaps a stand-alone bridal store. Currently, the company operates 13 retail locations.

In a move that will delight web designers and developers everywhere, Australian electronics retailer Kogan has announced that customers using Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) to make purchases will pay a 6.8 percent "IE7 tax." IE7 is the bane of online designers, as it's the least standards-compliant of the current pack. This means that designers need to do separate testing and design changes to make sites appear correctly in all browsers. According to Kogan, that's a quantifiable hard cost that it's no longer willing to pay.