After decades of being the face of online-only retail, Amazon is increasingly inching into the bricks-and-mortar world: pop-up stores; planned supermarkets without checkouts; a reported interest in buying Whole Foods — and now the possible acquisition of BJ’s Wholesale Club. [More]
retail
Rue21 Closing 400 Stores, Focusing On Online Sales
By 4.17.17
Teen retailer Rue21, which has been the subject of recent bankruptcy rumors, has decided to shutter 400 stores and put more of its attention to online sales. [More]
Walmart Looks To Improve Its Wardrobe With Possible Purchase Of Men’s Retailer Bonobos
By 4.17.17
You know that part of every “ugly duckling” movie where the protagonist goes through a head-to-toe makeover in a matter of minutes? That describes the last four months for Walmart, which has revamped its wardrobe with the purchases of ShoeBuy, ModCloth, and even MooseJaw. And it’s apparently not done with apparel, with a possible purchase of online men’s retailer Bonobos in the offing. [More]
Retail Continues To Suffer As Sales Decline For Second Month In A Row
By 4.14.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
For the first time in nearly two years, retail sales declined two months in a row, highlighting once again the current challenges facing a retail industry that has suffered a number of bankruptcies and store closures so far in 2017. [More]
McDonald’s Manager Arrested For Refunding $3,800 Worth Of Big Macs … To Herself
By 4.14.17
Each day, fast food managers around the world refund money to unhappy customers, but one burger-brained McDonald’s manager realized she could issue a fake refund for a Big Mac and pocket the money… Then she did it nearly 1,100 times. [More]
JCPenney Postpones Store Closings Because People Are Shopping There Again
By 4.13.17
Two months after JCPenney announced it would shutter 138 stores across the country amid falling sales, the company says it is delaying those closings as customers have apparently started shopping with the retailer again. [More]
Walmart Greeter Says He Was Fired After Turkey Wandered Into Store
By 4.13.17
Have you heard the one about the turkey that wandered into a Wisconsin Walmart? Oh, it’s not a joke, it really happened last month, and now the greeter for the store says he’s been fired over the incident. [More]
Target Recalls 560,000 “Hatch & Grow” Easter Toys Over Ingestion Hazard
By 4.13.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
If you bought a Hatch & Grow Easter egg or Dino toy from Target for your child’s basket this weekend, you might want to make alternative plans: Target has recalled 560,000 of the toys as they pose an ingestion hazard that can only be remedied with surgery. [More]
You Might Be Shopping At An H&M Store And Not Even Know It
By 4.12.17
Just like you might not know that your ranch dressing, lip balm, and drain cleaner are all owned by the same company, you could soon be buying clothes from multiple stores, all owned by fast fashion mega-retailer H&M. [More]
Payless Delays Severance Pay For Employees Until At Least May 9
By 4.12.17
Employees of Payless ShoeSource who lost their jobs before the company’s bankruptcy filing have received some really difficult news: They won’t be receiving their severance payments for at least another month, as the company waits for its next hearing in federal bankruptcy court. [More]
Walmart Adds Discount For Shopping Online, Picking Up In Store
By 4.12.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Shopping online and being able to pick up your purchase at the store is a minor convenience, but you still have to drive to the store, wait to be served, get your package, and drive home — and you may have paid more than you would at Amazon or some other online-only retailer. So to make this option more attractive to shoppers, Walmart.com will be discounting millions of items if you purchase them for in-store pickup. [More]
GoPro Tries To Combat Buyer’s Remorse With Trade-In Program
By 4.11.17
Did you spend hundreds of dollars on a GoPro camera only a couple of years ago, only to see better (and sometimes less-expensive) miniature action cameras hit the market? For folks looking at their expensive, outdated GoPro and having regrets, the company is launching a trade-in program. [More]
hhgregg Stores Are Closing After Bankrupt Retailer Can’t Find Buyer
By 4.10.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Up until 5 P.M. on Friday, appliance retailer hhgregg was waiting for a buyer to swoop in and save it from liquidation. The appliance, electronics, and furniture retailer could find someone to buy its business as a going concern, keeping at least some of its stores open, or it could liquidate and close. Store closing sales began on Saturday. [More]
The Retail Sector Lost 30,000 Jobs Last Month
By 4.7.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
We’ve focused a lot in recent months on the worrisome trend of retail bankruptcies and all the stores and malls being left vacant in their wake. But a new federal jobs report gives an idea of the impact these tough times have had on workers, with nearly 30,000 retail jobs vanishing in March. [More]
L.L. Bean Introducing New Duck Boot Designs
By 4.7.17
For several years, L.L. Bean has had trouble keeping up with demand for its iconic duck boots, repeatedly putting the footwear on backorder . The company appears to have learned the lesson that scarcity can lend an air of desirability to a product, as it now plans to offer limited-availability variations of the duck boot. [More]
Man Locked Overnight In CVS Won’t Be Charged For Helping Himself To Snacks
By 4.6.17
If you found yourself inadvertently locked inside a CVS overnight, you could try out a bunch of cosmetics, wrap yourself in bandages and play “mummy,” or — like one Michigan man — help yourself to some food from the snack aisle. [More]
Rue21 May Be Next Retailer To File For Bankruptcy
By 4.6.17
The retail wheel of misfortune has been particularly unkind to teen-targeted shops that occupy many of the nation’s malls and shopping centers. WetSeal, Aeropostale, Pacific Sun, and Quicksilver have all recently filed for bankruptcy, and a new report says Rue21 may be the next to fall. [More]
Here’s The List Of Payless Stores That Will Be Closing
By and 4.5.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Now that Payless has filed for bankruptcy, the shoe chain will be closing the doors of 400 stores around the country. To help shoppers deal with the shutdowns, Payless has provided a list of not only which stores are closing but where shoppers can find stores nearby that will remain open. [More]
