Retail Stores

The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts a 3.6 percent to 4 percent rise in holiday retail sales during the November-to-December period for a total of $678.8 billion to $682.0 billion, the trade association said Tuesday. This would put 2017 in line with last year's holiday sales, which increased 3.6 percent year-over-year (the five-year average is…

After chatting with and listening to retail executives at last week's Shop.org conference in Los Angeles, I left the event with the following three themes: 1. Amazon.com is a Behemoth, But We Have Brands and Communities The overriding sense I got listening to retailers at Shop.org is that while they understand that trying to compete…

The Gymboree Corp. announced that it has successfully completed its financial restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 as a new corporation under the name Gymboree Group, Inc. The children's apparel retailer exited bankruptcy with a reorganization plan that includes a comprehensive recapitalization that will eliminate more than $900 billion in debt and a reduced store footprint. …

In a press conference yesterday at the Shop.org conference in Los Angeles, a panel of speakers spent an hour telling assembled media not to believe the stories they're reading and hearing about the death of retail. In fact, the opposite is true: while there have been some high-profile retailers that have closed stores this year…

Disney has built its iconic brand on delivering magical experiences to consumers, from its theme parks to its entertainment business (movies, TV shows) to its licensed merchandise. The fourth division of the business, retail, was more challenged in accomplishing this goal. In a keynote presentation yesterday at the Shop.org conference in Los Angeles, Michael White,…

If I wanted to wait in a long line, wander aimlessly and have my personal space invaded, I would have gone to a theme park. Unfortunately, this type of inconvenience is penetrating the big-box shopping experience, and with more on-the-go consumers than ever, people are heading to smaller-format stores (not to mention the smallest format…

Adding to an already successful year, Everlane, a startup selling high-quality clothing basics, just announced a partnership with Nordstrom. From Sept. 29 through Nov. 12, Everlane will be available in department store locations in California, Washington, Canada, Dallas and Chicago, and also on Nordstrom's website. The partnership is part of Pop-In@Nordstrom, a shop-in-shop initiative that…

In episode 111 of Total Retail Talks, Richard Last, chairman emeritus, board of directors, Shop.org; founding partner, Axcelora; senior director, Global Digital Retailing Research Center, University of North Texas, offers his insights into the state of the retail industry, including how legacy brick-and-mortar retailers must evolve in order to remain viable in today's digital environment,…

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Taylor Knight reviews the top retail news of the week, including two retailers — Toys"R"Us and Aerosoles — filing for bankruptcy, and Kohl's offering free returns for Amazon.com customers starting in October.

First impressions are more important than you realize. It’s said that people form their opinions about someone within 15 seconds of meeting them. If you’re opening a brick-and-mortar store, first impressions are vital. Overall, competition in the retail sector is intense, but things are much tougher when opening a brick-and-mortar store. Consumers should be able…