After launching private label clothing brands last year, Amazon is now reportedly aiming its sights on the lucrative world of exercise apparel with its own line of workout clothing. [More]
Retail Services
Giant Former Sears Store In Chicago To Become Apartments And Maybe A Liquor Store
By 1.4.17
Last year, the oldest operating Sears store, a now-windowless tan brick behemoth in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood closed. The local commercial real estate market had the same problem as Sears itself: what could be done with an enormous retail building that the marketplace no longer needs? A developer came forward with a plan to redevelop the currently dormant space into apartments and maybe a liquor store. [More]
Chicken McGriddle Coming To McDonald’s All-Day Breakfast Menu — In Florida
By 1.4.17
Nearly a year after McDonald’s began slapping a McChicken on its syrup-flavored McGriddle bun in Ohio, the Chicken McGriddle will become the latest all-day breakfast item to grace menus in Florida. [More]
Customer Buys $150 Crafting Machine From Walmart; Receives Box Of Potatoes
By 1.3.17
Crafters and scrapbookers across the country are likely familiar with the Cricut, a device that cuts paper into just about any pattern you desire. They probably also know what a potato is, and that the two items aren’t interchangeable. Except, apparently, at Walmart. [More]
The FTC Has Some Questions About The Bass Pro Shops-Cabela’s Merger
By 12.30.16
Earlier this year, Bass Pro Shops offered to buy up one of its biggest competitors, Cabela’s, for $5.5 billion. The Federal Trade Commission is reviewing the deal now, and is raising concerns that this might be too much consolidation in the hunting and fishing market. [More]
From Jelly Donut Burgers To Fish Stick Pizza: The Year In Stunt Foods
By 12.30.16
Who wants a plain ol’ burger when you can have a burger burrito? Or cheese sticks when you can have Cheetos-dusted sticks fulfilled with macaroni? In 2016, you could have these interesting mashups and so much more, as fast food restaurants and snack companies continuously tried to one-up each other. [More]
USPS Gives Woman 7 Canaries To Replace Smashed Package Of Dead Birds It Delivered Before Christmas
By 12.30.16
A story that sounds like “The 12 Days of Christmas” gone horribly wrong is wrapping up with a happy ending (unless you happen to be a recently deceased canary): after delivering a smashed box filled with a half-dozen dead birds to a woman in Alabama, the U.S. Postal Service has successfully replaced the deceased avians with seven live canaries. [More]
Michigan Bans Local Governments From Banning Plastic Bags
By 12.30.16
While states like Hawaii and California have enacted bans on plastic bags, Michigan is going the exact opposite route, passing a law that bans local governments from banning plastic bags or putting fees on disposable containers. [More]
Run-DMC Suing Online Retailers, Including Amazon and Walmart, For $50 Million
By 12.30.16
Run-DMC might have broken up 14 years ago, but the name and the musical legend live on in the world of licensed, endorsed merchandise. Unfortunately, according to a new lawsuit, the Run-DMC name also lives on in infringing merchandise being sold by major online stores. [More]
Another Year That Shouldn’t Have Been: 64 Times Companies & Employees Embarrassed Themselves In 2016
By 12.30.16
Just like last year (and, honestly, every year), 2016 was rife with stories about companies and their employees treating customers badly, going too far with bad jokes on social media, and then issuing semi-apologies while making claims about “taking it seriously,” or sometimes “very seriously.” [More]
December Is Now The Usual Time To Start Selling Easter Candy
By 12.29.16
Do you have a craving for Easter candy? Good news! You can start preparing for the holiday, which is on Apr. 16 in 2017, because Easter treats have been on store shelves for over a week now. [More]
More Hatchimals Problems: Parents Claim They Say Curse Words
By 12.29.16
Yesterday, the hot holiday toy of 2016 came under fire when parents complained that the Hatchimals they bought for their kids failed to hatch. Now, some who have hatched the interactive toy say it came with an unexpected feature: an R-rated vocabulary. [More]
Sears Holdings Announces Another Round Of Kmart And Sears Closings
By 12.29.16 — Updated: 1.5.17
There are two related pieces of news out of Sears Holdings this week. First, the company is closing another round of Kmart and Sears stores across the country. Second, it’s set to borrow at least another $200 million from its manifesto-writing CEO. [More]
When Is The Best Time To Buy A New TV?
By 12.29.16
Are you in the market for a new television? If so, your timing is good. While it’s common wisdom that TV deals are the best around the time of the Super Bowl, sales data also show that’s true. [More]
Amazon Patents Flying Warehouse To Stock Delivery Drones In Mid-Air
By 12.29.16
It’s no secret that Amazon is into drones, from testing deliveries with PrimeAir in the U.K. to patenting ways to turn lampposts and church steeples into perches for the umanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the ecommerce company has thought of just about everything when it comes the flying devices. And apparently now, that includes how to stock them mid-air. [More]
White House: Hidden Fees “Threaten The Competitive Process”
By 12.28.16
It seems like an increasing number of things you buy now come with fees that you don’t find out about until it’s time to make the purchase: Book a hotel room — there’s a “Resort Fee” that wasn’t in the advertised price. Going to a concert — there’s a “Convenience Fee” that can sometimes double the ticket price. Subscribe to cable TV — there are “Broadcast TV” fees for stations that are freely available over the air, and “Regional Sports” fees for stations that are often owned by the cable company. A new report from the White House says these hidden fees are cause for a broader concern about a lack of competition. [More]
Your Marijuana Delivery Service Might Be Extra Busy This New Year’s Eve
By 12.28.16
If you live in a state where marijuana is legal in some form, you might be looking forward to bidding 2016 goodbye and easing into 2017 with your favorite bong or a fresh batch of pot brownies. You won’t be the only one: marijuana deliveries are expected to spike on New Year’s Eve. [More]
The Limited Is Probably Shutting Down, But Won’t Say So
We’ve been sharing the news that women’s clothing chain The Limited is possibly doomed, even warning anyone still holding gift cards for the chain to use them up before they’re worthless. Your local store will probably have already closed before the company ever files for bankruptcy. [More]