196. That’s the number of sporting goods stores that are set to close after two retail companies filed for bankruptcy in recent weeks. While the failures of Vestis Retail Group — the operator of retailers Eastern Mountain Sports, Sport Chalet, and Bob’s — and Sports Authority were accelerated by mountains of debt both incurred in recent years, there’s more at work when it comes to the apparent demise of sporting goods retailers. [More]
retail
Another Sporting Goods Company Files For Bankruptcy; All Sport Chalet Stores Closing
By 4.18.16
With the dust just beginning to settle surrounding the bankruptcy and 140-store closure of sporting goods retailer Sports Authority, another, albeit smaller, outdoor gear retailer is following suit. Vestis Retail Group, the operator of brand Eastern Mountain Sports, Bob’s Stores, and Sport Chalet, officially filed bankruptcy papers today, outlining a restructuring plan that focuses on closing 56 stores. [More]
Nine States Expand Probe Into On-Call Scheduling, 15 More Retailers In The Hot Seat
By 4.13.16
With the help of seven other states and the District of Columbia, New York is expanding the probe into on-call scheduling in the retail world, sending letters to 15 more retailers asking them about their use of the practice. [More]
Walmart Expands Grocery Pickup Option To Eight Additional Cities, Doubles Effort In Others
By 4.13.16
Consumers in eight additional cities will soon be able to order their groceries online and head to their local Walmart to pick them up later. Walmart announced Wednesday that it would expand its free online grocery pickup option — which officially launched in October — to Kansas City; Boise, ID; Richmond and Virginia Beach, VA; Austin; Provo, UT; Daphne, AL; and Charleston, SC, as well as double the number of stores that take part in the service in Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta. To use the service, customers simply place their orders online, pick a time to pick up their items, drive to the store, park in a designated spot, and call a special phone number. An associate then brings the goods straight to their trunk. [Walmart] [More]
Victoria’s Secret Parent Company Restructuring, Plans To Rely Less On Catalog
By 4.7.16
Before the era of online commerce, catalogs were the holy grail of shopping without leaving your house. Top on the list for many consumers were the thick books full of Victoria’s Secret merchandise. While the retailer continues to send out those catalogs, the company’s parents has plans to step away from the iconic mailers in the future.
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Best Buy Moving Forward With Same-Day Delivery, Adds 11 Cities To Pilot
By 4.7.16
Six months after Best Buy jumped on the same-day delivery bandwagon by launching a pilot program in San Francisco, the electronics retailer plans to expand those tests to additional cities around the country. [More]
PacSun Files For Chapter 11 With Restructuring Plan That Will Keep Stores Open
By 4.7.16
As we suspected earlier this week, ’90s mall staple Pacific Sunwear — known as PacSun to all the cool kids — has announced it’ll be filing for Chapter 11. Don’t start your teary farewell speech just yet — the company has a restructuring plan already in place to avoid liquidating its inventory, and will keep stores running throughout the process. [More]
Forget The Internet — H&M Wants To Double Its Number Of Retail Stores
By 4.6.16
With traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers continuing to lose ground to online sales, and longtime mall mainstays like Sears and JCPenney either closing locations or selling off floor space, the trend is definitely toward smaller retail footprints and focusing on the web. But the CEO of one of the world’s largest clothing retailers plans to buck that trend in a big way. [More]
Kohl’s Ditching In-Store Cafe Concept After Seven-Month Test
By 4.5.16
If you were hoping to one day get a quick pick-me-up while spending all your Kohl’s Cash, you’d better bring your own. Less than a year after the company joined the ranks of retailers like Target, Sam’s Club, IKEA, Costco, and countless others in bringing weary shoppers sustenance while traipsing down the aisles, Kohl’s has ended its cafe concept test, with no expansion on the horizon. [More]
PacSun Reportedly Preparing To File For Bankruptcy
By 4.5.16
The bankruptcy rumor mill has been turning yet again, with a new report in the wind that says Pacific Sunwear — commonly known as PacSun — is preparing a Chapter 11 filing. [More]
Target’s Cartwheel App Now Clips Manufacturers’ Digital Coupons
By 4.4.16
For the better part of three years, Target has offered a standalone app — Cartwheel — that provides customers with discounts on certain products. While shoppers have always been able to combine actual coupons with this discount, the retailer is now aiming to make the process easier, by adding digital manufacturer coupons to the Cartwheel app. [More]
You Will Soon Be Able To Rent Out Office Space Inside A Staples Store
By 4.4.16
With a growing number of shoppers going online, retailers no longer need the vast acreage of floor space inside their stores — like Hallmark shops inside of JCPenney, or Sears Hometown mini-stores inside of Ace Hardware. And with more people working remotely, it was only time before some retailer got the notion of carving out some rental office space for customers. [More]
Minneapolis Council Votes To Ban Plastic Bags At Store Checkouts, Impose Paper Bag Fee
By 4.1.16
Better keep your pile of reusable shopping bags close at hand, Minneapolis residents: the city’s council just voted to ban all plastic bags from store checkouts and impose a fee on customers who opt to get a paper bag instead of bringing their own carriers. [More]
Lawsuit: CVS Told Security Guards To Watch Minority Shoppers
By 3.29.16
A year after four former CVS security workers filed a federal lawsuit against the company alleging their supervisors ordered them to keep an eye on minority shoppers at some New York City stores, another former “market investigator” in Brooklyn has levied similar allegations against the pharmacy chain in a new class-action lawsuit. [More]
Sorry, Gilt Is All Sold Out Of These Marijuana-Print Dresses For Kids
By 3.28.16
Marijuana-themed clothing is nothing new. All over the world, folks sport hats, shirts, leggings, and other apparel showing their affection for the plant. It’s less usual to see pre-teens and toddlers wearing weed-themed clothing, but Gilt shoppers seemed hungry to snap up this leafy dress for kids as young as two. [More]
Walmart To Open Dairy Processing Plant, Will Make Its Own Milk For 600 Stores
By 3.23.16
While Walmart generally sources its store-brand products from third-party private label companies, the mega-retailer is deviating slightly from that trend with the news that it will soon be supplying its own milk for hundreds of Walmart stores.
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Supermarket Chain Sues Credit Card Companies Over Costly Chip Card Delay
By 3.15.16
Nearly five months ago, new credit card rules went into effect making retailers liable for fraudulent purchases if they haven’t upgraded their checkout technology to accept more secure, but far from perfect, chip-enabled cards. While some retailers have installed the card readers, many haven’t turned them on. But according to a new class-action seeking lawsuit, it’s not their fault. [More]
