Target’s gender-neutral approach to children’s toys is seeping into other aspects of the retailer’s business. Over the weekend the big box store unveiled a new brand of kids’ home decor that comes without boy or girl designations. [More]
Retail Services
We Can Blame Ron Johnson For The Wave Of ‘Perpetual Sale’ Lawsuits, Maybe
By 2.5.16
In the last few years, consumers, usually based in California, have been filing lawsuits against retailers and their outlet stores alleging that “suggested” and “original” prices on items are pretty much just pulled out of the air. Seeing the amount or percentage that we saved is thrilling for some shoppers, but those “original” prices were never official prices. Whose fault is this? Former JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson, maybe. [More]
Here’s A Look Inside The Last Days Of Some Closing Walmarts
By 2.5.16
We expect that Walmart stores are crammed full of merchandise and people, and they look wrong when they no longer have either. Walmart recently completed a round of store closings, including the entire Walmart Express chain. Naturally, some of our readers were there, and brought their cameras. [More]
Fabletics Seeks New Subscribers By Opening Stores In Malls
By 2.5.16
Fabletics is an athleticwear company for women that sells nice workout wear outfits for about $50. They operate on a subscription model: every month, you’ll get billed for a subscription unless you log in and decide not to buy anything that month. It’s like Columbia House for yoga pants. Yet the company is doing something sort of unexpected for a retailer that uses this business model: they’re opening a seventh real-life store, with the new one at the Mall of America in Minnesota. [More]
Walmart Ditching Murphy USA After 20 Years; Will Run Its Own Gas Stations Going Forward
By 2.4.16
Stop by just about any Walmart and you’re likely to see several fuel pumps in the front or on the side of the store. For the last 20 years, those gas stations have been operated by another company, Murphy USA, but that’s about to change. [More]
Why Are So Many People Reporting Kenmore Oven Door Explosions?
By 2.4.16
Let’s start by pointing out the obvious: oven doors are not supposed to explode. They’re supposed to keep hot air in while letting us view the food cooking inside. Yet hundreds of customers with Kenmore ovens have reported shattered doors to retailer Sears, and Sears and the Consumer Products Safety Commission have reacted with a collective shrug. Past one year, issues like this are officially the customer’s problem. [More]
Mall CEO’s Comment About Amazon Stores Not Meant To Represent Amazon’s Actual Plans
By 2.3.16
Yesterday, everyone from book lovers to Barnes & Noble shareholders reacted to a tiny piece of news about Amazon during another company’s routine earnings call. The CEO of mall operator General Growth Properties told listeners that one factor affecting the future of mall traffic would be the 300 to 400 stores that Amazon plans to open in malls nationwide. “The what now?” everyone else on the call said. Now the company has walked back that comment. Sort of. [More]
CVS Unveils First Store-Within-Store Pharmacies At Target
By 2.3.16
Target customers will soon see what $1.9 billion can buy, as CVS has officially started rebranding the big box store’s pharmacies into its own mini drugstores. [More]
Tata Motors In India Decides To Rename New Hatchback Called Zica
By 2.3.16
“Zica” seemed like such a nice name for a new zippy hatchback from India’s Tata Motors. It’s a cute name that isn’t (as far as we know) secretly a swear word in any of the countries where it would be marketed, and is an abbreviation for “zippy car.” Then the World Health Organization declared the mosquito-borne virus to be a global health emergency, and it may have been then that the company realized that this problem would not be going away. [More]
Wells Fargo To Pay $1.2 Billion To Settle Govt. Lawsuit Over “Reckless” Mortgages
By 2.3.16
In Oct. 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Wells Fargo, alleging that the mega-bank had defrauded taxpayers by issuing “reckless” mortgages then misleading the Federal Housing Administration about the quality of those loans. Today, Wells revealed that has agreed to pay $1.2 billion to close the book on this issue. [More]
Report: Amazon Is Planning Hundreds Of Physical Bookstores Nationwide
By 2.2.16
If you thought Amazon was determined to eventually put all bookstores out of business, that isn’t quite true. Today, a mall CEO let slip that the Everything Store, which began by selling just books, wants to duplicate its real-life bookstore in Seattle across the country. Update: The company has clarified that this was not meant to be a statement about Amazon’s actual plans, but neither company denies the story, either. [More]
Amazon Taking Longer To Ship To Non-Prime Customers
By 2.2.16
After all these years of Amazon Prime being around, most of us know that a major perk of the subscription service is free, expedited shipping. But it looks like Amazon’s focus on getting packages to Prime customers has resulted in slower deliveries for shoppers who didn’t ante up $99/year for Prime. [More]
West Virginia Woman Sues Wells Fargo Over Alleged Home Loan Modification Misrepresentations
By 2.1.16
When you’re going through the often-tedious process of refinancing your mortgage, getting some bad information can only serve to make things worse. That’s why a West Virginia woman is suing Wells Fargo, alleging that the bank told her to stop making loan payments then put her into collections and foreclosure.
[More]
Here’s What You’ll Find On Sale In February
By 2.1.16
Our deal-crunching colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports maintain a national calendar of deals, which tracks which items are on sale during which months so you can plan your spending accordingly. What can you find on sale in February? You should be looking for indoor furniture (especially mattresses), winter clothing, and humidifiers. [More]
Starbucks Shrinks A Whole Serving From Iced Espresso Classics
By 2.1.16
Good morning! It’s time to stumble to your kitchen and make something caffeinated to aim at your mouth. One handy way to do that when you’re especially sleepy is to buy pre-mixed iced coffee or espresso and milk drinks at a grocery or discount store. Only Starbucks, a popular maker of those drinks, has shrink rayed an entire serving out of their iced espresso drinks. [More]
Some Merchandise From Closing Walmarts Will End Up For Sale On Amazon
By 1.29.16
The news that 154 Walmart stores would be closing in the United States was devastating to employees and to the communities left without grocery stores or pharmacies, but there’s one group of people who were delighted at the news. Bargain-hunters, sure, but especially the subset of bargain-hunters who resell their purchases online at a profit. [More]
Walmart Ordered To Pay $31 Million For Retaliating Against Pharmacist Whistleblower
By 1.29.16
A federal jury in New Hampshire has slapped the nation’s largest retailer with more than $31 million in penalties for unlawful retaliation and gender bias against a former pharmacist who blew the whistle on safety concerns involving her co-workers. [More]
Quiksilver Creditors Come To Agreement, Keep Surf Brand Going
By 1.28.16
Back in September, “action sports company” Quiksilver USA filed for bankruptcy protection, planning to reorganize and make its retail presence even more action-packed. After months of arguing over the value of the company, with creditors claiming that the company is worth $144 million more than it claims. Finally, the two sides have come to an agreement, and the bankruptcy will be settled. [More]
