Around the world, many companies, including retailers, restaurants and personal care businesses, are loosening or even lifting COVID-19-related lockdown measures in one way or another. The New York Times recently reported while all 50 U.S. states have started reopening, substantial variations exist, while much of the public remains anxious about the potential for a second…
In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Melissa Campanelli and Kristina Stidham discuss the trend of retailers closing their stores on Thanksgiving Day in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Walmart first announced nationwide closures last week, and others are starting to follow suit. The list now includes Walmart, Target, Dick's Sporting Goods, Kohl's,…
At the close of 2019, which for most of us seems like a decade ago, it was predicted by many that the experience economy would be valued at $12 billion by the close of 2023. At the time, 72 percent of millennials said they would rather spend money to engage in live events than on…
In this video, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Roger Dunlap, senior vice president of sales and operations at Bob's Discount Furniture, a retail furniture chain with locations across the United States. Dunlap discusses how Bob's is safely reopening its hundreds of retail stores nationwide amidst the coronavirus pandemic — both for shoppers and employees; why the…
Sycamore Partners, the private equity firm that recently backed out of a deal to buy Victoria’s Secret, has a good chance of winning an auction to buy the department store chain J.C. Penney out of bankruptcy, MarketWatch reported. The New York-based firm bid $1.75 billion for the department store chain. If it wins the auction,…
SPARC LLC, a full-service retail operator comprised of the U.S. mall owner Simon Property Group and the apparel licensing firm Authentic Brands Group (ABG), has made a $305 million bid for bankrupt Brooks Brothers, according to a court filing published last week. The offer, still subject to better and higher bids and court approval, will keep at least 125…
COVID-19 triggered a dramatic shift in how we shop: stores deemed “non-essential” were closed, and stores that remained open were significantly changed. Going to a grocery store was suddenly high effort: standing in long lines to get in, wearing masks, and keeping a strict distance from other customers. As retailers open non-essential stores, these restrictions…
The retail spaces that shoppers will return to following the COVID-19 pandemic won't be the same ones they shopped in previously. Associates and consumers will have to develop and adjust to new shopping behaviors that minimize physical touch and closeness. This period will be marked by innovation and experimentation, as retailers attempt to drive increased…
Ascena Retail Group, the parent company of women’s apparel brands Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant and Catherines, filed for bankruptcy yesterday and said it will close at least 877, or nearly a third, of its 2,800 stores after years of declining sales and growing debt. The company, founded as Dressbarn in 1962, is one of the nation’s…
Aldi, a discount grocer, announced that it will open more than 70 new stores in the United States by the end of the year, CNBC reported. The expansion plan will bring Aldi to the Phoenix area for the first time, and will add more stores to states, including California, Kansas, Texas, and New York. In…
