Is that craft beer in your grocery cart really brewed by a small, independent brewery, or does it come from the same commercial vats as other non-craft beverages? It can be hard to tell, especially now that big name retailers like Walmart are selling their own private label “craft” brands. [More]
retail
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]
Marijuana Companies Trading Stoner Slang For Mainstream Branding
By 1.26.17
Have trouble asking for an ounce of Purple Kush or Atomic Haze without feeling like the kind of stoner who would brag to his baked buddies about scoring some dank bud? Don’t worry, corporate branding is coming to save the day with acceptably bland product names. [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]
Sports Authority Customers Are Shopping Somewhere, Not Sporting Goods Stores
By 1.25.17
Where did Sports Authority’s customers go? The sporting goods retailer filed for bankruptcy almost a year ago, closing all of its stores by the end of the summer. However, other retailers in this sector are puzzled because the Sports Authority customers who, in theory, should have taken their business to the competition have apparently just stopped buying sporting goods. [More]
Report: Target Creating Its Own Mobile Payment System
By 1.24.17
If you don’t carry around a bunch of cash or your credit cards, you might be among the throngs of people who instead opt for a mobile-payment system, whether it be Apple Pay, Android Pay, Chase Pay, or any of a number of store-specific apps. Now there will soon be another choice on the market, as long as you’re shopping at Target, that is. [More]
The Limited Files For Bankruptcy, Shutters Online Store (For Now)
By 1.19.17
The retail slaughter continues on in 2017 with its latest victim: after shutting down all 250 remaining stores Jan. 8, The Limited has filed for bankruptcy and has shuttered its online store — for now, at least. [More]
Fate Of American Apparel Stores Remains Unclear After Bankruptcy Auction
By 1.17.17
Last week, Canada’s Gildan Activewear purchased the American Apparel brand, but not the company’s retail locations, leading to reports that all 110 stores would be shuttered. Yet, what remains of American Apparel won’t confirm those closures — for the moment. [More]
JCPenney Adding Nike Stores Inside 600 Locations
By 1.17.17
In their attempts to draw in customers and become more of a one-stop-shop, struggling department stores across the country have entered into partnerships to host store-within-a-store concepts: from Macy’s LensCrafters shops to Best Buy’s Verizon and AT&T “experience stores.” Now, JCPenney is jumping into the fray, launching Nike stores in 600 of its locations around the country. [More]
Walmart Says It Will Add 10,000 Jobs, Open Dozens Of Stores This Year
By 1.17.17
A year after Walmart announced it would close 154 stores round the country, eliminating the jobs of about 10,000 employees, the big box retailer unveiled plans to open or relocate dozens of stores and hire more than 10,000 workers. [More]
Report: American Apparel Starting Layoffs At Southern California Factories
By 1.16.17 — Updated: 1.17.17
Now that American Apparel has been sold off to Canadian-based apparel maker Gildan Activewear, not only could all 110 stores reportedly be closing, but the retailer’s new owner has also decided not to buy some of its manufacturing operations after all, insiders say, prompting the start of layoffs for thousands of workers in Southern California. [More]
Wet Seal Considering Second Bankruptcy In Two Years
By 1.13.17
No, we haven’t gone into reruns: Wet Seal, a clothing retailer geared toward women in their teens and twenties, is considering celebrating the second anniversary of its last bankruptcy by popping the cork on a second one. This time, though, the chain is hoping to quietly sell itself without going through the expense and hassle of court proceedings. [More]
Aeropostale Is Back, Re-Opens More Than 500 Stores
By 1.12.17
Last month, signs in Aeropostale stores blared, “EVERYTHING MUST GO!” The stores sold off their inventory, then closed up. Then something surprising happened: more than two-thirds of those stores opened back up under new ownership. [More]
FedEx Customers Will Be Able To Drop Off, Pick Up Packages At Walgreens Stores
By 1.11.17
We’ve all seen what can happen when a package is left out in the open or otherwise unattended, but not everyone can be home during the day, live in a doorman building, or have their stuff delivered to an office. Also? Some carriers just hate coming to your house. In an effort to solve these problems, FedEx and Walgreens announced plans to put delivery lockers in as thousands of Walgreens stores by the end of next year. [More]
Gildan Activewear Wins American Apparel Bankruptcy Auction With $88M Bid
By 1.10.17
Although big name bidders like Amazon and Forever 21 recently joined the group of companies looking to scoop up bankrupt American Apparel and its assets at auction, in the end, longtime Canadian suitor Gildan Activewear came out on top. [More]
Sam’s Club CEO Exiting As Company Moves To Win Over Costco Shoppers
By 1.6.17
In recent years, Sam’s Club CEO Rosalind Brewer has led the warehouse store’s efforts to compete for Costco’s more affluent shoppers, but as sales at the Walmart-owned chain remain unremarkable, Brewer will soon retire.
[More]
