If you’re a frequent shopper at JCPenney, listen up: The retailer is poised to debut a new, revamped loyalty program making it easier for customers to earn free stuff more quickly and more often, as the retailer seeks to pad its bottomline amid store closures. [More]
retail
Abercrombie & Fitch Removing “For Sale” Sign From Its Bared, Chiseled Chest
By 7.10.17
Two months after Abercrombie & Fitch slapped a “for sale” sign on its tanned, muscled self, the retailer has decided not to sell itself after all. [More]
Home Depot Worker Says He Was Fired For Trying To Stop Possible Kidnapping
By 7.6.17
An Oregon Home Depot employee says he was fired after he attempted to intervene in what he was told was a kidnapping attempt in the store’s parking lot. [More]
Plus-Size Online Retailer Eloquii To Open Bricks-And-Mortar Stores
By 7.6.17
The current retail trend is for companies to shutter bricks-and-mortar stores and shift their focus to online sales. But plus-size apparel retailer Eloquii is going in the other direction and opening a handful of physical locations. [More]
Denim Retailer True Religion Files For Bankruptcy
By 7.5.17
Before recent “crimes against jeans” in which companies are charged hundreds of dollars for “window” jeans, clear jeans, and painted on mud jeans, people would spend the same amount of money on a relatively simple, if not bedazzled, pair of high-end jeans. But with changing fashion and tastes, these denim-focused retailers of yesteryear aren’t faring so well. Case in point: One-time denim darling True Religion has filed for bankruptcy. [More]
Amazon Hosts Invite-Only Events To Keep Sellers From Defecting To Walmart
By 6.28.17
Like the guy in the office who tries to make up for the fact that he’s been a real jerk by taking everyone out to happy hour, Amazon is hoping that some meet-and-greets with under-appreciated third-party sellers will keep them from fleeing to Walmart.com or other rivals. [More]
Online Consignment Retailer ThredUP To Open Physical Stores
By 6.28.17
While some traditional retailers are moving their businesses online-only, one previously online-only clothier is doing the opposite: Online consignment and thrift store ThredUP is taking its business offline, opening several bricks-and-mortar stores. [More]
Will Any Other Big Companies Make A Bid For Whole Foods?
By 6.22.17
Although Amazon announced last week that it would be buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, it’s far from a done deal. And in the time it takes to complete such a large merger, there could be a few other players who decide to belly up to the table and make a bid for the grocery chain. [More]
eBay Tries To Remain Competitive With New Price-Match Guarantee
By 6.21.17
As eBay has gradually shifted away from its heyday reputation as an online auction site, it’s had some trouble reminding everyday shoppers that it can still be a good place to get a deal. To promote this fact, eBay is now offering a guarantee — on some products — that it will match or beat prices found on Amazon, Walmart.com and other sites. [More]
Amazon Merger “Not A Tinder Relationship” Says Gaga Whole Foods CEO John Mackey
By 6.20.17
What a difference $13.7 billion makes. Last week, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey had some choice words for investors who were urging him to sell the company, calling them “greedy bastards.” But after Amazon has announced it’s buying the grocery chain for a tidy sum, Mackey is whistling quite a different tune. [More]
Clothing Retailer Buckle Had A 6-Month Malware Infection
By 6.19.17
Buckle is a denim-centric clothing store that sells “medium to better–priced” clothes for men and women. It may not be a household name, but there’s probably a store near you, with around 450 locations in 44 states. The chain admitted over the weekend that its payment systems were infected with malware from Oct. 2016 to April 2017, potentially compromising customers’ payment card data. [More]
JCPenney CEO: Postal Service Is Really Online Retailers’ Biggest Problem
By 6.16.17
As bricks-and-mortar retailers attempt to attract more customers and make more sales, they are increasingly courting online shoppers. But all of those two-day shipping services and other free shipping guarantees are putting pressure on delivery companies, and that could be a big problem, according to the top executive at JCPenney. [More]
Kroger Slashing Prices On Milk, Eggs To Keep Up In Heated Grocery War
By 6.15.17
With foreign newcomers like Lidl and Aldi landing on our shores, and online services like Amazon creeping onto an already crowded grocery battlefield, traditional grocers are willing to do whatever they can to keep customers coming back. At Kroger, that means slashing prices on popular staples like milk and eggs, in an effort to signal to customers that their stores have the best deals on the everyday items they need. [More]
Nike Cutting Jobs, Reducing Production Of Some Products
By 6.15.17
There might be fewer styles of sneakers, sweatpants, and other Nike apparel to choose from next time you go shopping, as the athletic company makes plans to cut back on its workforce and product lines. [More]
Your Great Finds From TJMaxx May Come From Underpaid Workers Right Here In The U.S.
By 6.15.17 — Updated: 6.18.17
While shoppers may believe that the merchandise on the shelves of their local TJMaxx, Marshalls, or other off-price store consists of castoffs from department stores, there simply isn’t enough of that kind of merchandise to keep every store filled. Instead, off-price retailers fill their racks with items that come directly from factories, and some of those factories have been linked to terrible labor practices. [More]
Costco Launches Program To Screen Products For Troublesome Chemicals
By 6.15.17
The products dotting Costco shelves could soon be changing if manufacturers don’t ditch certain ingredients, as the warehouse store steps up its scrutiny of chemicals in products. [More]
Some IKEA Products Are Now Available On Amazon
By 6.14.17
Well, that was fast: Not even a week after an IKEA executive said the company would start selling products online through third-party vendors sometime next year, various IKEA items have popped up for sale on Amazon. [More]
Is A “Reinvented” J. Crew Catalog Enough To Keep Company Afloat?
By 6.13.17
Amid sinking sales figures, executive turmoil, and a seismic consumer shift away from traditional retail, J. Crew is staking part of its turnaround plan on… rethinking its print catalog? [More]
