A few weeks after shaking things up with the abrupt exit of its creative director, more changes are afoot at J.Crew: The company announced today that it would be cutting about 250 jobs as it tries to cut costs amid struggling sales. [More]
Retail Services
Walmart Tries Its Hand At Stunt Foods With Whatever A ‘Crotilla’ Is Supposed To Be
By 4.25.17
Fast food companies have never been shy when it comes to shocking customers and drumming up business with odd food mash-ups like fish stick pizza, fried chicken or fried egg shell tacos, Cheetos chicken fries, the list goes on, and on, and on. But now it appears that Walmart is looking to get a piece of the stunt food pie with the debut of a tortilla-croissant bakery item. [More]
New Big Macs, Cheaper Drinks Help Boost McDonald’s Sales
By 4.25.17
Last year, McDonald’s had all-day breakfast to thank for a boost in sales, beating earning expectations. Now, the company has its three sizes of Big Macs and cheaper drinks to hang its fatter wallet on. [More]
L.L. Bean Orders Delayed Up To A Week After Problem With Systems Upgrade
By 4.25.17
As if L.L. Bean hasn’t had enough problems getting its popular and often backordered duck boots onto the feet of customers, some recent buyers will remain bootless a bit longer as issues with a systems upgrade has forced the company to delay shipments. [More]
Bankrupt Gander Mountain Could Have A Buyer, Allowing Stores To Stay Open
By 4.25.17
When specialty sporting goods retailer Gander Mountain recently went bankrupt, the future of the company’s physical locations was in doubt. Now comes a report that there may be a buyer for Gander Mountain that could keep some of the chain’s stores open. [More]
JCPenney Pretties Up, Adds More In-Store Sephora Locations
By 4.24.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
In a move to boost foot traffic (and hopefully sales) while getting some help with the rent, JCPenney and Sephora are expanding their partnership, adding and enlarging dozens more store-within-the-store locations of the beauty products retailer. [More]
Scammers Buy Stuff With Your Card, Then Trick You Into ‘Returning’ Items To Them
By 4.24.17 — Updated: 4.26.17
Because there is apparently no limit to the amount of effort someone will put in to being dishonest, scammers are constantly evolving their tricks. For example, it’s no longer enough for someone to just steal your credit card number to go on a shopping spree. Now they have to involve you, by tricking you into actually shipping the fraudulent purchase on to them. [More]
Some Pricey Hotels Will Now Let Guests Rent Rooms By The Minute
By 4.24.17
Renting out a hotel room by the hour used to be a clear indicator of illicit goings-on. The current era of “pod” hotels and airport napping stations has removed some of that stigma — just in time for an app that lets people rent hotel rooms by the minute. [More]
Amazon Now Working On Self-Driving Vehicles For Deliveries
By 4.24.17
Between drones, leased planes, and its own fleet of Flex drivers, Amazon has a decent foothold in the transportation-and-delivery market. But now the company apparently has an eye on the future, and it involves driverless vehicles. [More]
Why Do Larger Clothes For Women Often Fit So Badly?
By 4.24.17
Anyone who’s ever bought clothing they’ve seen a model or a mannequin wearing has probably had that moment, when you get the item in your non-mannequin size, put it on, and… it just doesn’t fit well, now that it’s on a real person. Why does this happen? [More]
Discount Retailer Stein Mart Selling Ivanka Trump Clothing Relabeled Under New Name
By 4.24.17
A number of higher-end retailers, including Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, recently stopped selling Ivanka Trump’s clothing and apparel line, citing slow sales. Now some Ivanka items are showing up on the less-glamorous racks of discount retailer Stein Mart, but without the Ivanka name. [More]
Sears Closing 50 Auto Centers, 92 Kmart Pharmacies
By 4.24.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Like a sinking ship that keeps jettisoning cargo in the hope of staying afloat, Sears Holdings will soon be ridding itself of 50 Sears Auto Centers and 92 Kmart Pharmacies. [More]
Target Encourages Store-Wide Mayhem With Mario Kart Shopping Carts
By 4.21.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
In what seems like a great cross-promotion for the Nintendo Switch, but which stands a decent chance of ending in utter bedlam at hundreds of Target stores nationwide, the retailer has decided to dress up shopping carts as Mario Karts. [More]
Crack In The Subway Bubble? Number Of Locations Shrinks For First Time Ever
By 4.21.17
After years of growth, Subway is beginning to shrink. Sure, the chain remains the most popular eatery in the world (at least in terms of stores), with more locations than McDonald’s. However, the 100% franchised chain reported a net decrease in its number of stores in the United States this year for the first time ever. [More]
Visa Under Investigation In Ohio For Debit Card Verification Practices
By 4.21.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Visa has revealed that at least one state attorney general’s office is looking into several aspects of the company’s debit card practices. [More]
Eastern Mountain Sports, Bob’s Purchased By UK Retailer Sports Direct
By 4.21.17
After their parent company went bankrupt twice in one year, sporting goods chains Bob’s and Eastern Mountain Sports have a new owner: Sports Direct, which already operates hundreds of stores in Europe and has had its eye on U.S. expansion for a while. [More]
Bebe To Close All 180 Stores; Future Plans Uncertain
By 4.21.17
The rumors that women’s clothing retailer bebe might exit the mall and go online-only were apparently true, as the company has announced plans to shutter all 180 of its stores this spring. [More]
Department Store Departures Will Be Good For Malls In The Long Run
By 4.20.17
While the nationwide retail apocalypse has led to lost jobs and terrible liquidation sales, there’s one piece of good news for consumers and for the companies that own malls. As old-fashioned anchors like Sears and JCPenney move out, more diverse stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues are moving in, and they’re paying much higher rents. [More]
