L.L.Bean Expands With First U.S. Wholesale Partnerships
July 21, 2020 at 1:50 pm

L.L.Bean is expanding from its original model of direct-to-customer catalog sales and in-stores sales with an agreement to sell its products in Nordstrom, Staples, and sporting goods chain SCHEELS, reports AP News. The company’s first wholesale agreements in the U.S. represent a push to get the brand's products in front of more consumers. The first phase…

New Feature Lets Consumers Shop for Groceries From Yahoo Mail
July 20, 2020 at 4:10 pm

Verizon Media today announced the launch of Groceries from Walmart, a Yahoo Mail feature that enables users to browse, add to cart, and purchase essential groceries from Walmart within Yahoo Mail. According to Verizon Media, this is the first time that email users can fill a shopping cart from their inbox, streamlining their shopping experience from…

Walmart to Launch Membership Program to Compete With Amazon Prime
July 12, 2020 at 12:39 pm

Walmart is launching a new subscription service later this month called Walmart+ that closely resembles Amazon Prime, multiple sources told Recode last week. According to the sources, Walmart+ will cost $98 a year, and will include perks such as same-day delivery of groceries and general merchandise, discounts on fuel at Walmart gas stations, and early…

Walgreens to Open Doctor Offices in Hundreds of its Stores
July 9, 2020 at 7:32 pm

Walgreens Boots Alliance announced earlier this week that it will soon have doctor offices inside of hundreds of its U.S. drugstores. The retailer has partnered with VillageMD, which will staff and run the primary-care clinics. The companies said they will open the clinics in 500 to 700 stores in more than 30 U.S. markets over the next…

The Reopening of Retail: Which Pandemic Changes Will Stores Keep?
July 9, 2020 at 5:48 pm

The COVID-19 pandemic drove customers away from stores, shut down businesses, and ground the global economy to a screeching halt. Now that the world has begun to return, retailers must think strategically to prevent temporary disruption from becoming a permanent end. When we talked to more than 400 retailers about how they adapted to the…

Brooks Brothers Filed for Bankruptcy and is Seeking a Buyer
July 8, 2020 at 7:46 pm

Retail brand Brooks Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday and is searching for a buyer, CNBC reported. Brooks Brothers is one of the country's oldest retailers, having been founded in 1818, and is best known for its polos and prepster attire. Rent had become a burden for the iconic retailer, and the disruption…

Is Your Retail Store Ready for its Reopening?
July 8, 2020 at 4:22 pm

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Kristina Stidham and Melissa Campanelli discuss an article recently published by Total Retail, “What Mark Cuban’s Secret Shopper Experiment Can Teach Us About the Future of Retail.” This article was authored by Emily Lane, product evangelist at Retail Zipline, and shares findings from a study recently commissioned…

Lucky Brand Files for Bankruptcy, Has Offer to Sell Company
July 7, 2020 at 6:24 pm

Los Angeles-based retailer Lucky Brand filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday, reports AP News. The apparel retailer blames its troubles in part on the coronavirus pandemic and said it plans to close 13 stores immediately, with more closures possible during the bankruptcy process. Lucky Brand said it has a deal lined up to…

What’s Next: Post-COVID Strategy for Retailers
July 6, 2020 at 4:17 pm

As more and more states and cities inch toward a post-COVID existence, many considerations are falling on the shoulders of retailers. So much changed for people during quarantine, and how they shop is likely at the top of the list. Retailers, both online and brick-and-mortar, have to rethink their customer experience so that people are…

Nordstrom Will Pay Only Half of its Rent for Rest of 2020
July 6, 2020 at 12:16 pm

Nordstrom is the latest retail tenant to find itself at odds with its landlords. The upscale department store chain has reportedly notified the property owners of its namesake and off-price Rack stores that it will pay only half of its rent costs for the rest of 2020. A letter from President of Stores Jamie Nordstrom to…