Retail Stores
August 23, 2018 at 11:06 am
This week, Lowe's announced it would close all Orchard Supply Hardware stores nationwide by Feb. 1. Lowe's is closing the stores to focus on its core home improvement business, the company said. USA Today reports employees were told about the decision Tuesday. Lowe's acquired Orchard Supply Hardware in 2013 out of bankruptcy. The brand had been…
August 17, 2018 at 11:56 am
Google is planning to open a two-level store in Chicago’s Fulton Market district, its first known location for a retail flagship, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. According to the report, the technology giant is close to finalizing a lease for almost 14,000 square feet on the first and second floors of several connected,…
August 8, 2018 at 2:18 pm
With Mattress Firm mulling a bankruptcy filing in order to get out of leases and shutter stores, online startup Casper is planning to open 200 locations within the next three years across the U.S. Casper opened its first permanent store, in New York, earlier this year. CEO Philip Krim told CNBC at the time that Casper's goal…
August 7, 2018 at 12:18 pm
In a sign of the times, two more traditional brick-and-mortar retailers have recently filed for bankruptcy protection. National Stores, Inc., parent company of retail brands such as Fallas, Anna’s Linens, and Factory 2-U, announced that in addition to filing for bankruptcy reorganization, it will be closing 74 of its 344 stores. National Stores, which is headquartered in Gardena,…
August 6, 2018 at 2:21 pm
Walmart is testing the use of storage and retrieval robotics, called Alphabot, to increase the speed of online grocery order pickup, according to a company blog post. The technology, which was developed in collaboration with retail automation company Alert Innovation, is being installed in a section of a Salem, N.H. supercenter, which will also be a dedicated…
August 3, 2018 at 8:32 am
In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Caitlin Sullivan and Joe Keenan discuss Nordstrom's inventory-free Local stores, and why experiential retail is integral to the future of brick-and-mortar.
August 2, 2018 at 3:40 pm
Specialty goods retailer Brookstone, known for quirky products, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday and plans to close all of its remaining mall-based stores. The company hired liquidators to close its roughly 100 remaining mall locations after declining foot traffic and management blunders crushed sales. The retailer has been bleeding cash as customers increasingly shop online…
July 30, 2018 at 1:34 pm
A program Walmart announced last summer that lets store associates opt into delivering e-commerce ship-from-store orders quietly ended in January, according to company documents obtained by Reuters. The program was tested at three stores — two in New Jersey and one in Arkansas — and the idea was that store employees would bring online orders directly to…
July 27, 2018 at 11:16 am
Despite filing for bankruptcy twice in just over two years, RadioShack announced a partnership with HobbyTown, a toy and hobby retailer, which will bring the electronics retailer's branded merchandise to 60 HobbyTown franchise locations across the U.S. The new stores will be called "RadioShack Express." Over time the new RadioShack Express “store-within-a-store” concept will be rolled out to HobbyTown…
July 19, 2018 at 2:49 pm
Leaving behind its big-box roots, Petco is opening a new kind of retail store where animal-friendly amenities such as dog baths, play yards and treats fit for humans are meant to win over picky pet owners who would otherwise snub the mainstream brand. Called PetCoach, the pilot store in northern San Diego County — unveiled this…
