Retail Stores

Kohl's announced Tuesday that it will accept Amazon.com returns in all of its store locations beginning in July, reports CNBC. Kohl's currently sells select Amazon products and accepts the e-commerce giant's returns in roughly 100 stores. The expansion of their partnership will push out Amazon returns capabilities to all Kohl's locations, amounting to more than…

In this week's Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Joe Keenan and Kristina Stidham discuss Amazon.com's recent decision to accept cash payments at its Go store, and how this change could impact operations. The change was made following mounting criticism that the cashless stores discriminated against the poor. In our analysis, Amazon could see both positive…

The North Face said this week that it will close its global headquarters and its 113 stores in the U.S. and Canada on Earth Day, April 22. The action is part of a campaign to make Earth Day an officially recognized holiday. The VF Corp.-owned brand said closing its doors on Earth Day will provide its employees ample opportunity…

Godiva has plans to open 2,000 cafe locations over the next six years, with the first opening in Manhattan Wednesday, reports AP News. The Belgium chocolate maker currently operates roughly 800 boutique stores in 105 countries selling its famed boxed chocolates, ice cream, and drip coffee. The new cafe locations will offer a complete menu…

For years, the retail industry has been plagued by high-profile store closures, like Sports Authority, Payless, and Toys“R”Us. These retail chains buckled under economic pressure, but brick-and-mortar stores aren’t necessarily doomed if they can embrace the retail renaissance. Research from Deloitte indicates that as Americans spend less, it most affects retailers in the middle —…

Many people are familiar with the outdated, traditional old store model — think long lines, limited assortments, out-of-stock inventory, and unhelpful sales associates. Considering the popularity of online shopping, customers expect more convenient, tailored in-store experiences to match the ease of virtual shopping. Although fewer people are shopping in physical stores, brick-and-mortar locations aren't disappearing…

If we learned anything from past retail trends, it’s that the store is still the most important part of the retail experience. Interest in the brick-and-mortar store is everywhere. Target’s CEO has said that the company's stores are its single biggest competitive advantage. Retailers must continue to keep their focus on the store by ensuring…

Signet Jewelers Limited, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, said last week that it's planning to close 150 underperforming stores during its current fiscal year and that by fiscal year's end it plans to reduce its store base by 13 percent over a three-year period, according to a company press release. Signet, which has 3,300 stores…

As Jeff Bezos expands the Amazon.com empire, its dominance is impacting consumer behavior as well as legacy business models across more business sectors than we could have originally imagined. It’s been referred to as the Amazon Effect. One notable ripple of the Amazon Effect has been felt by traditional retailers. The profound impact has been…

Sears is opening stores again. The department store chain that has closed hundreds of Sears and Kmart locations over the past few years announced this week that it will open three “Sears Home & Life” stores in May. The stores will be located in Anchorage, AK; Lafayette, LA; and Overland Park, KS. The new  stores will offer…