As someone wise once said, if you don’t have a box that will fit what you want to ship, just figure something out. One of our very own Consumerist readers was the recipient of such necessity-driven creativity recently, when an item she’d ordered online showed up on her doorstep in, shall we say, unexpected packaging. [More]
Retail Services
Macy’s Sell Frango Chocolate Brand To Garrett Popcorn Owner
By 1.30.17 — Updated: 1.31.17
More than a decade after Macy’s inherited much-adored chocolate brand Frango from Marshall Field & Co., the struggling department store is selling the label to the owner of Garrett Popcorn. [More]
Marriott May Offer Communal Rooms With Shared Living, Kitchen Spaces
By 1.30.17
When you travel with a group, it can be a pain to book adjoining rooms, and even then you all have to cram into one person’s room or lay claim to the lobby bar if you want to get together. This is one reason why groups are increasingly turning to Airbnb and similar services, and why Marriott may try rooms with communal spaces. [More]
Walgreens Slashes $2B From Value Of Rite Aid Merger; Up To 1,200 Stores To Be Sold Off
By 1.30.17
Last Friday, Jan. 27, was the deadline for the deal to close in the proposed acquisition of drugstore chain Rite Aid by competitor Walgreens. Today, the companies announced a revised deal with an eye to meeting Federal Trade Commission approval. This deal values Rite Aid at over $2 billion less, and proposes the sale of hundreds more stores to another drugstore chain. [More]
Here’s How You Might Get Something Back From Gift Cards For The Limited
By 1.27.17
When a retailer files for bankruptcy protection, that typically means that it will stop accepting gift cards, which is very bad news if you happen to hold one. If customers of The Limited didn’t spend their gift cards before the chain shut down its retail stores and its website, they lose the value of their cards. [More]
Kmart Lays Off More Employees, Turns Sales Floor Into Big Pile Of Boxes
By 1.27.17
The apparent inescapable death spiral of Sears continued last week when the retailer laid off an unspecified number of full-time employees from its Kmart stores. [More]
Starbucks Mobile Order System Might Be Too Popular, Walk-In Customers Walk Out
By 1.27.17
Shortcuts are awesome, at least until everyone learns the shortcut and bogs down the process all over again. This is the lesson that Starbucks is learning, after realizing that its mobile order-ahead system might have become a little too popular, possibly hurting sales. [More]
Walgreens And Rite Aid Still “In Discussions” With FTC On The Merger Deadline
By 1.27.17
Today, Jan. 27, is the deadline for Walgreens and Rite Aid to close the merger that they announced way back in October 2015. The companies didn’t ask for an extension or call the transaction off, so what’s going to happen to this deal? [More]
Georgia Gas Station Refusing To Sell Samuel Adams Beer Leading Up To Super Bowl
By 1.27.17
Samuel Adams may be the beer brand most closely associated with Boston, which is why one Georgia gas station is not stocking the brew — at least until after the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons have faced off in this year’s Super Bowl. [More]
Bottles Of McDonald’s Big Mac Special Sauce Already On eBay
By 1.27.17
When McDonald’s decided to give away bottles of its Big Mac Special Sauce, you could already picture these containers of yellow-ish condiment ending up for sale on the secondary sauce market. So it comes as little surprise that folks are selling their Special Sauce on eBay. [More]
Amazon Makes Boy’s Dream Come True With Visit To Phoenix Distribution Center
By 1.27.17
Though we may be used to the idea of summoning any product you want from anywhere around the world with the click of a button, the process that goes into making such a feat possible is a lot more complicated. And for an eight-year-old boy who spent a lot of time, while fighting cancer, thinking about how Amazon makes it all work, seeing that system up close and personal on a recent trip was a dream come true. [More]
150 Employees Laid Off At Abercrombie & Fitch Headquarters
By 1.27.17
Another youth-focused retailer is showing signs of trouble, the apparent result of teens no longer shopping at malls. Abercrombie & Fitch laid off 150 employees at its New Albany, OH, headquarters this week. [More]
Wet Seal Closing All Stores, Still Hasn’t Filed For Second Bankruptcy
By 1.26.17
Two years after its first bankrutpcy, teen clothing retailer Wet Seal was reportedly considering a second one if it couldn’t find investors or a buyer. Instead, the retailer will lay off its 148 headquarters employees and close its 171 remaining stores. [More]
Walgreens Still Not Kicking Cigarette Habit, But Makes Some Products Less Visible
By 1.26.17
Three years after Walgreens said it would evaluate whether or not to continue selling cigarettes, and a year after it said it needed a bit more time to come to a resolution, shareholders for the drugstore chain are questioning the company’s choice to continue selling these cancer-causing products. [More]
Has Amazon Helped Indie Bookstores?
By 1.26.17
Bookstore chains like Borders and Barnes & Noble were among the first retailers to feel the sting of Amazon, with its vast variety of titles and speedy delivery times, not to mention its huge share of the ebook market. However, the online goliath doesn’t appear to be having the same diminishing effect on the number of independent bookstores. [More]
Golfers Rejoice: Costco’s Coveted Golf Balls Are Coming Back
By 1.26.17 — Updated: 3.16.17
In the last few months, golfers have been losing their minds over the greatness of Costco’s new Kirkland Signature golf balls, buying up as many as they could and even flipping them on eBay for twice the retail price. The balls were a limited item, and seemed to be gone forever. They won’t be. [More]
Are You Having Trouble Getting Your Recalled Samsung Washer Fixed? Tell Us About It
By 1.26.17
Late last year, Samsung announced its second major recall in less than a year by calling back more than 2.8 million top-loading washing machines after customers complained about violent, almost explosive vibrations. While the company promised to fix the devices or provide refunds to owners, three months later, things apparently haven’t gone as planned, leading to a class-action seeking lawsuit. To that end, we’d like to hear from people who have experienced problems with Samsung’s recall process. [More]
The Last Operating Howard Johnson’s Restaurant Is Available
By and 1.25.17 — Updated: 1.26.17
If you want to revisit the vacations of decades past by dining at an orange-roofed Howard Johnson’s, your opportunity may be running out soon. The very last HoJo restaurant operating, in Lake George, NY, is available both for sale and for lease and re-development. Update: The man running the restaurant says that it’s doing just fine, and just the property it sits on that’s for sale. [More]
