“Today at Apple,” Apple’s initiative announced last month that offers an expanded set of educational sessions and more at its brick-and-mortar stores, launched its dedicated website this week. The site enables customers to view the available courses and sign up for classes. Currently, consumers can sign up for more than 4,000 education sessions per day…
As we've seen lately in the retail industry, companies need to work harder to get shoppers into their stores. Some retailers offer experiences, others sales and discounts. DEBUT, a newly opened store at the Minneapolis-based Mall of America (MOA), offers a revolving collection of products to entice shoppers to walk through its door. “The goal…
Wal-Mart is being sued for both allegedly denying health benefits to same-sex spouses of employees as well as rejecting pregnant employees’ requests to limit heavy lifting, climbing on ladders, and other potentially dangerous tasks. In the former suit, an employee in Massachusetts (where same-sex marriage has been legally recognized since 2004) attempted to add her…
J.C. Penney's stock price closed at a historic low on Friday after it missed its first quarter forecast and said customer traffic was below a year ago. While the department store chain said it can still pull off recently lowered full-year targets for flat sales and improvements in margins, investors pummeled the stock. Penney's stock price closed below $5 a…
Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette, who succeeded Terry Lundgren just last month, announced plans to grow the department store chain's off-price brand, Macy’s Backstage. "We're hoping that by the end of this year, we have a scaleable [off-price] model to aggressively roll out in the future," Gennette said during the company’s earnings call on Thursday. Macy’s has 26…
Healthcare costs are on the rise. This has a particularly big impact on the retail industry, as it's comprised primarily of an hourly workforce with limited options when it comes to obtaining affordable healthcare coverage. This presents retail HR executives with an obstacle to cultivating and retaining a healthy, productive group of employees. While employee…
While it was widely reported over the weekend that outdoor goods retail chain Gander Mountain would be closing all of its 126 stores, the chain's new owner, Camping World Holdings, said it will keep at least 70 of the chain's stores open. Camping World won a bankruptcy auction of Gander Mountain’s assets — including the company's…
With e-commerce now a normal part of everyday life, the number and frequency of in-person interactions is decreasing, and sometimes disappearing altogether. However, even as online shopping pervades, brands are finding important value connecting with customers face-to-face, whether through local pop-up shops, brand-sponsored community events or new brick-and-mortar locations. In-person experiences are often the best…
It was announced this week that Gymboree is looking to close a sizable percentage of its stores as part of restructuring under bankruptcy court protection. MarketWatch reports the children's clothing retailer has reached out to firms known for liquidating companies’ inventories and other assets to help with the closure of up to 350 stores. Discussions around…
