There are plenty of restaurants and businesses that refuse to accept anything other than cash, but one Baltimore coffee shop is swinging the other direction after getting robbed one too many times. [More]
Retail Services
Chipotle Sales Down 20% In 2016; Still Working On That Comeback Thing
By 2.3.17
The good news for burrito chain Chipotle is that its sales are up for the first time in six quarters. The company’s food safety nightmare began in Oct. 2015, and since then the company has either been in crisis mode or trying to recover. The chain’s latest quarterly results show that the recovery isn’t complete, but at least its sales are up a little bit. [More]
Nordstrom Says Poor Sales To Blame For Axing Ivanka Trump Line
By 2.3.17
There will be one fewer famous name on products at Nordstrom stores this spring, after the retailer announced it will not be carrying the Ivanka Trump brand in the coming season. [More]
JCPenney And Macy’s Settle Long-Running Lawsuit Over Martha Stewart Housewares
By 2.3.17
Does it feel like 2012 was very long ago? That’s when JCPenney and Macy’s began their dispute over who has the right to sell Martha Stewart’s branded housewares in their stores. The two chains have finally decided to settle the case, though the terms weren’t disclosed. [More]
Court To Review Target’s $10M Customer Data Breach Settlement
By 2.3.17
Nearly two years after Target agreed to set up a $10 million fund to reimburse customers affected by its massive 2013 holiday season data breach, a federal appeals court has ordered the judge in this lawsuit to review the settlement. [More]
Your GameStop Said New Copies Of That Game You Want Are Out Of Stock… Are They?
By 2.2.17
As Wells Fargo rather spectacularly demonstrated in recent months, putting too much pressure on employees to notch up a certain kind of sale can lead to a perverse incentive: Employees who need to keep their jobs may try increasingly underhanded things just to meet an impossible metric. This week, a report suggests that the latest set of employees who might be lying through their face to you just to keep their jobs are the ones selling video games. [More]
Wet Seal Files For Second Bankruptcy Since 2015
By 2.2.17
In a move that will surprise no one, young women’s clothing retailer Wet Seal has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in just over two years. This time, the chain will not be re-organizing, and it’s unlikely that a new owner will come along and rescue the business out of bankruptcy. [More]
Target Stepping Away From Innovation To Focus On Core Business
By 2.2.17
In an attempt to attract more customers and drum up sales in the face of fewer visitors and just so-so grocery sales, Target turned to innovation, creating prototype stores of the future and launching a super-secret project “Goldfish” that aimed on disrupting the retail landscape as we knew it. Those efforts are no more. [More]
Ralph Lauren CEO Making A Quick Exit After Butting Heads With The Real Ralph Lauren
By 2.2.17
Just 16 months or so after Ralph Lauren (the person) stepped down from the top spot at Ralph Lauren (the company), his replacement is already on his way out the door. [More]
Walmart To Pay $1M For Mislabeled “Degradable” Plastic Products
By 2.2.17
When you buy something that says it’s “biodegradable” or “compostable,” you expect it to be just that. But that wasn’t necessarily the case at some California Walmart stores, where the big box retailer has agreed to pay $1 million to resolve claims that it sold misleadingly labeled items. [More]
Should People Be Allowed To Smoke Up At Legal Retail Marijuana Shops?
By 2.1.17
So you’re visiting a state where recreational marijuana is legal. Congratulations! Now it’s time to get some of that green stuff and partake — but where are you supposed to get high if you don’t have a private residence? [More]
Patio Chairs Sold At Home Depot Recalled Because Porch Life Shouldn’t Be Dangerous
By 2.1.17
You know what’s nice? Sitting on your patio, porch, or deck in a nice, comfortable chair. Heck, if it allows you to swivel so you can turn to face whoever is talking to you, that’s nice too. But being unceremoniously dumped on the ground by your furniture is far from relaxing, which is why patio furniture sold only at Home Depot has been recalled. [More]
Amazon Signs 50-Year Lease On Air Cargo Hub In Kentucky
By 2.1.17
Sure, Amazon keeps saying that it isn’t interested in carrying freight for other companies even as it leases planes and invests in one of the companies it leases from. Now the company has signed a lease on a space similar in size to the air hubs of FedEx and UPS. [More]
Tesla Motors Officially Changes Name To Simply Tesla
By 2.1.17
After refusing to fold to pressure from German regulators and consumer safety advocates to change the name of its semi-autonomous driving feature Autopilot, the electric carmaker is changing something — its official name, dropping the “Motors” and becoming simply “Tesla.” [More]
Coach Is Already Doing Better By Raising Purse Prices
By 1.31.17
Accessory companies haven’t been doing so well for the last few years, especially brands that are pricey but not too pricey, like Coach, Michael Kors, and Kate Spade. A few years ago, Coach decided to pursue wealthier customers and sell higher-priced bags, and that strategy is apparently paying off. [More]
H&M Slows Down Store Openings, Shifting Focus To Online
By 1.31.17
For years, so-called fast fashion purveyor H&M (which stands for Hennes & Mauritz) has quickly opened store after store around the world to compete with rivals like Zara and others. Now, however, the company says it will slow down its pace of new store openings in order to concentrate on current stores and online sales. [More]
Walmart Ditching $50/Year ShippingPass For Free Two-Day Shipping
By 1.31.17
Less than a year after its national launch, Walmart is pulling the plug on its $50/year ShippingPass subscription service that was intended to compete directly with Amazon Prime. In its place, the big box retailer plans to offer free-two day shipping on millions of products with a lower minimum purchase price. [More]
IKEA Launching Customizable “Open Source” Furniture To Give Customers More Choices
By 1.30.17
Maybe you can’t afford that bespoke chaise with the walnut legs and expensive upholstery, but that doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to having the same living room as everyone else who shops at IKEA: in an effort to help customers living in tight spaces more options, the Swedish furniture company is introducing what it calls its first “open source” furniture. [More]
