Sporting impressive growth numbers — from just over $1.1 million in annual revenues in 2004 to projected revenues of $26.6 million this year — ReStockIt.com hasn't only weathered the storm of one of the most difficult economic environments in 80-plus years, it's thrived.
Wal-Mart plans to speed up the rollout of its midsized Wal-Mart Market stores. According to published reports, the company will open between 90 and 100 of the stores by January 2012 and plans to open another 300 by 2013. The retailer originally announced it would open 40 Walmart Market stores in 2011. The revised plan emerged after it found that the return on investment in the midsized banner is similar to that of its larger super centers, according to Bill Simon, CEO of Wal-Mart U.S.
For many suburbanites across America, the local mall has been popularly viewed as a landmark of sorts, if not the ultimate teenage hangout. In a way, that reputation — more a place to meet up than a place to shop — has been part of its demise in recent years, as anchor stores struggle to compete with the rise of stand-alone big-box retail chains. But then, not all malls are created equal, say some industry analysts who think a mall comeback is under way.
The Walt Disney Co. will open its first-ever Disney Baby store next year at the Americana in Glendale, Calif., the Los Angeles Times reported. The company plans to open Disney Baby locations — one on each coast — to display the best of its new infant line, according to the report. The stores will give Disney executives the opportunity to interact with parents of newborns and refine product offerings that span infant apparel, nursery items and bath products.
The list of top 10 U.S. cities plagued by organized retail crime has two new additions — Las Vegas and Phoenix — according to the National Retail Federation's seventh annual Organized Retail Crime survey. The top 10 U.S. cities for organized retail crime (in alphabetical order) are: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia and Phoenix. The survey's overall results indicate organized retail crime is very much on retailers’ minds: 94.5 percent of respondents said they had been the victim of organized retail crime.
An article in The Wall Street Journal suggests Apple should be paying less for space it occupies in malls around the country. Here's the argument: Mall anchors, usually department stores, often pay very little for space, and sometimes pay nothing at all as facility operators want them as a draw. Apple produces equal or better numbers in terms of traffic and sales dollars compared to current anchors. Apple is paying thousands of dollars more for its small spaces than department stores are for locations up to 20 times the size.
Gap continues to tweak its operating model in the hope of reversing the trend that put it on a downward spiral in the mid-2000s. During a call with analysts yesterday, company CEO Glenn Murphy revealed Gap plans to close 200 stores by 2013, putting the company's total store count in the U.S. at 700. In 2007, the Gap operated 1,150 stores nationwide. At the same time, Gap plans to step up expansion in the outlet center space for both its Gap and Banana Republic divisions.
J. Crew reported a $29.9 million loss in its fiscal first quarter, compared to a profit of $44.7 million in the year-ago period. The apparel retailer said the loss was due to markdowns to clear out excess inventory and charges related to being acquired. J. Crew went private in March in a $3 billion deal with two private equity firms.
Wal-Mart is planning to expand its test of in-store mobile specialty shops to a total of 350 supercenters this year. The in-house pilot was launched in 200 stores last fall and will be extended to an additional 150 locations this year.
Bailey Banks & Biddle, the legendary jewelry store founded in 1832, introduced a new multichannel jewelry shopping experience with the launch of its new website on the Ignify e-commerce platform.
