Retail Stores
With the threat of online shopping, brick-and-mortar retailers have been forced to embrace the importance of the experiential aspect of their stores to drive repeat foot traffic. It takes something really compelling for the average consumer to go to a physical store instead of ordering whatever they need from the comfort of their own home.…
Wal-Mart is throwing 20,000 parties in its stores across the country in an attempt to attract more holiday shoppers. According to a company press release, the parties will take place on Nov. 4, Dec. 2 and Dec. 16, and will include 165,000 in-store toy demos, visits from Santa and other activities. The Nov. 4 party will…
It’s not often that you get to hear from retail legends like Jim Sinegal, co-founder and director of Costco Wholesale Corp. That’s why I was so excited to attend his talk at SAP’s Retail Executive Forum, which was held in New York City earlier this month. And he didn't disappoint. Sinegal served as the CEO…
In an interview at the Teradata Partners Conference in Anaheim, Calif., last week, Mike Halula, retail analytics practice lead for the Americas, Teradata, touched on a variety of topics regarding the current and future state of the retail industry: On Marketing to Millennials "Marketers are trying to figure out how customers want to be connected…
For the third straight year, REI will close its stores on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. The outdoor apparel and gear retailer will also not be processing any online orders on either day (although shoppers will still be able to make purchases from REI's website). REI will pay its 12,000 employees, including hourly workers, for their…
CVS Health has proposed to buy health insurer Aetna for $200 a share or more, according to news reports. If the deal goes through, CVS would become the first healthcare triple threat: a pharmacy, a pharmacy benefit manager and an insurer. The Wall Street Journal first reported the proposed deal. Acquiring Aetna would give CVS…
Nike CEO Mark Parker said at the annual Investor's Day summit that the company will be favoring a small number of retailers in which its products will be sold. The company currently has 30,000 retail partners, but plans to favor a select few "differentiated retailers" like Nordstrom and Foot Locker — about 40 in all. These…
Walgreens plans to close about 600 drugstores as it completes a $4.38 billion deal to buy nearly 2,000 from rival Rite Aid. Company spokesman Michael Polzin said Wednesday that most of the closings will be Rite Aid stores, and the vast majority will be within a mile of another store in the Walgreens network. The store closings…
Despite predictions that the end of brick-and-mortar is near, we’re seeing more and more brands that are continuing to invest in it. Alibaba is just the latest e-commerce company to expand its presence into brick-and-mortar, with Square recently announcing its first physical shop location. These announcements come in the wake of Amazon.com's industry-changing purchase of…
Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) said yesterday that it's selling its Lord & Taylor flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City for $850 million to WeWork Companies, a provider of shared workspace, community and services for entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups and small businesses. HBC is getting an equity investment of $500 million from Rhone Capital,…