When you’re in the supermarket and see a big, loud “Lower Price” sticker covering up an everyday price and showing a discount of anywhere from $.20 to $5, you’d expect that the price being covered up would be the original, higher amount. That’s why some Aldi shoppers are confused about why the discounted price on the sticker is the same as the price it’s covering up. [More]
retail
TJ Maxx Parent Company Considering Opening Thousands More Stores
By 5.18.16
While other retailers are busy shutting down stores and trying to figure out how to grab a chunk of that online shopping business, one chain is considering beefing up its bricks-and-mortar presence. TJX Companies Inc., the parent company of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, and other off-price stores, may open thousands more stores worldwide. [More]
Gap CEO Says He’s Open To Possibly Using Amazon To Reach More Customers
By 5.18.16
Although Amazon may be the big bad wolf at the door coming to blow the house down and eat up their business, some retailers are considering teaming up with the tech giant instead of fearing it. Like Gap, whose CEO said the company would consider working with Amazon if it means reaching shoppers. [More]
Amazon To Open More Physical Stores — Eventually
By 5.18.16
While its second bricks-and-mortar bookstore isn’t expected to open until later this summer, Amazon is already looking toward a future with more physical stores, as well as a beefed-up online presence through its subscription Prime service. [More]
TJ Maxx And Marshalls Are Doing Great Because Bargain-Hunting Thrills People
By 5.17.16
For people who enjoy it, bargain-hunting combines all of the primal fun of hunting with no threat of being trampled by an antelope. That’s why, amid recent fretting that American department stores and malls are doomed, there remains a bright spot in the retail business. TJX, parent company of off-price stores T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, reported better-than-expected results this quarter, unlike its department store competitors. [More]
Former JCPenney CEO: Should Have Stayed With My Plan Despite $6B Loss
By 5.16.16
Former JCPenney CEO Ron “No Sales Here” Johnson may have cost the retailer $6 billion in sales during his tenure, but the executive believes his plan could have turned around the company, eventually. [More]
Why Is JCPenney Trying To Be More Like Sears, When So Many Sears Stores Are Closing?
By 5.16.16
In a previous era, JCPenney and Sears competed against each other for sales in just about everything from apparel to appliances to towels and sheets. Gradually, the rivals’ paths diverged somewhat: JCPenney focused on clothing, while Sears lowered its price point to push its core business of tools and appliances. So why, with Sears in the process of closing so many of its stores, is JCPenney once again going head-to-head with its old nemesis by getting back into the appliance game? [More]
Are These The Final, Doomed Days Of The American Mall?
By 5.13.16
Once upon a time, not terribly long ago, enclosed shopping malls were mammoth physical manifestations of the great American retail experience — just about everything you could want to buy all in the same sprawling building, anchored at various points by those glorious national department store chains. Then came the dramatic shift to big box stores, offering everything from TVs to hardware to clothing to groceries from one store, followed by the advent of online shopping, where all this shopping can be done in your undies and everything will be delivered to your door. One retail analyst says that recent underwhelming sales figures from Macy’s and other mall mainstays could indicate that many of these relics of the not so distant past are doomed. [More]
Sears Opening Smaller-Format Appliance Stores
By 5.11.16
Even though Sears is constantly adding underperforming stores to its list of closing locations, the once-great retailer isn’t ready for burial just yet. In an effort to focus on one of its core businesses, Sears is thinking small.
JCPenney Officially Reentering Appliance Arena: Expanding Offerings To 500 Stores
By 5.9.16
At the beginning of the year, JCPenney announced it would once again dip its toes into the appliance business by testing sales of ovens, refrigerators, washers, and the like through pilot programs in three states. That experiment apparently went well, as the retailer now plans to expand the offerings nationwide and begin tests of other home-focused products, including flooring and window coverings. [More]
Report: JCPenney Slashed Workers’ Hours, Took Other Drastic Measures To Cut Costs
By 5.6.16
According to a new report, JCPenney had to work fast to cut costs recently after sales were unexpectedly sluggish last month. Some of the drastic measures the department store took included telling managers to cut workers’ hours, freeze overtime, and ban store markdowns. [More]
American Apparel Tries Crowdsourcing To Find Expensive Products People Will Buy
By 5.5.16
Three months after going private and emerging from a contentious fight over its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, American Apparel is looking to put the pieces back together, and it’s starting with a crowdsourcing campaign to solicit ideas for products made in the U.S. [More]
GNC Looking To Sell Itself, Other Restructuring Options
By 5.2.16
Amid declining sales and increased scrutiny on the supplements industry, GNC Holdings is looking to either restructure its business or sell itself.
[More]
Card Reissued Because Of A Breach? Good Luck Finding Out Where The Hack Happened
By 4.27.16
When a massive data breach happens at a retailer like Target or Home Depot, there’s little mystery as to why your bank is rushing you a new credit or debit card. But when your card is being replaced because of a lower-profile cybercrime, the odds are against you ever finding out why. [More]
Aeropostale Delisted For “Abnormally Low” Trading Price After Possible Bankruptcy Report
By 4.22.16
Just a day after in-the-know sources revealed that teen-clothing retailer Aeropostale was headed for bankruptcy, the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. [More]
Report: Teen Retailer Aeropostale Prepping Bankruptcy Filing
By 4.21.16
The past few years haven’t exactly treated teen retailers well: DEB, Wet Seal, and dELiA*s (although it came back as an online-only store) are just a few of the brands that have filed for bankruptcy. Another once-popular teen-focused retailer is joining that list as Aeropostale is said to be prepping its own bankruptcy filing. [More]
Target: Customers Can Use Fitting Rooms, Bathrooms That Reflect Their Gender Identity
By 4.20.16
While some states and cities consider rules regarding who can or can’t use which public restrooms, Target has confirmed that its policy is that customers can use whichever fitting room or restroom best reflects their gender identity. [More]
Report: Bass Pro Partnering With Goldman Sachs To Acquire Rival Cabela’s
By 4.19.16
The same day that the dire fates of Sport Chalet and Sports Authority give us reason to ponder the state of the sporting goods industry, we have news of more possible changes in this niche retail market: Outdoor goods giant Bass Pro is reportedly looking to buy rival Cabela’s. [More]
