Retail Stores

On Oct. 6, Urban Outfitters will officially kick off its Store on Tour in Columbia, S.C. The company got its hands on two refurbished shipping trucks and will be selling its gear on the road, along with some friends. Dockers helped curate a gallery of artwork made out of Dockers' khakis, Tortoise & Blonde will be hawking indie eyewear, and Dry Soda Co. will be handling the refreshments, some of which will be free.

Its wildly successful Missoni line is still in stores, but Target is already looking ahead. The discount chain announced that it will next collaborate with fashion designer Jason Wu, who shot to fame after First Lady Michelle Obama wore one of his dresses to the 2009 Inaugural Ball.

With the holiday season approaching and consumers’ budgets tighter than ever, many major retailers are bringing back layaway as a payment option for customers. Will many shoppers consider layaway as a payment choice for the holidays? 

The world of shopping and shoppers is neatly divided into haves and have-nots. While the recovery of the luxury retail business, due largely to its successful globalization efforts, has been in the forefront of the news a lot lately, at the opposite end of the spectrum another equally strong and important movement is underway.

Photos of first lady Michelle Obama strolling away from the checkout counter at a Target store in Alexandria, Va. circled the globe Sept 30. The images were unusual and striking, depicting the elegant first lady in an unglamorous disguise shopping at a discount store familiar to millions of Americans.

Hennes & Mauritz accelerated its expansion plan and said it's gaining market share as it delivered a fall in third-quarter profits that was smaller than feared. The fashion retailer suffered a 15 percent drop in third-quarter profit, hit by costs such as higher cotton prices. 

Google has opened its first physical shop. The Chromezone is a shop within a branch of Currys and PC World on London’s Tottenham Court Road, and is being used by Google to trial a new way of selling its own Chromebook laptops.

The Shop.org Annual Summit is consistently one of my favorite conferences of the year. Held in late summer, the event provides me with a burst of inspiration that I tap into throughout the rest of the year. This year's conference, held in Boston from Sept. 12 - 14, was no exception. Here are two insights I learned there that I'd like to share with you:

In an effort to help its retail partners create an ideal shopping experience on behalf of Philip Stein, the brand is halting all online watch sales on its website. “A positive retail experience is a vital part of the Philip Stein mission to make their customers their number one priority”, says Will Stein, president of Philip Stein watches. “The best way to do that is by providing the service and attention that only a retail environment can provide.”

T-Mobile announced the rollout of a new global design for nearly 400 new and remodeled stores across the country. In an ongoing commitment to provide the ultimate customer experience, T-Mobile adopted the new design format from its parent company, Deutsche Telekom AG, which has received positive customer feedback for this new design in retail stores across Europe.