I'm really excited today! Why? Because the Women in Retail Leadership Circle (WIRLC), sister brand of Total Retail, is announcing the release of its ninth annual list of the Top Women in Retail! Honorees, some of whom were recommended via a survey of our WIRLC members and Inner Circle e-newsletter readers, were chosen based on several criteria, including position within…
Melissa Campanelli
Amazon.com recently tested a feature in its mobile app that showed products on other sellers’ product pages for lower-priced items, often from Amazon's own private labels, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. For example, if someone was searching for AAA batteries on Amazon and got a sponsored link for Energizer, they would click on the…
Walmart is making its own tablet in a move that would pit it against other tech giants and retailers such as Apple and Amazon.com. The world’s largest retailer plans to introduce an inexpensive, kid-friendly tablet computer under its ONN store brand, part of a broader redesign of its electronics department, according to a report on Bloomberg.com. Walmart’s ONN…
Teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch said last week that it plans to close up to 40 stores by next February, with the majority of closures slated in the U.S. Abercrombie, which also owns Hollister, has been closing stores regularly over the years. For example, over the last eight years, it has shuttered about 475…
Amazon.com is shutting down all 87 of its U.S. pop-up stores in April, ending the retailer’s years-long experiment with these small shops as it tinkers with an evolving brick-and-mortar strategy, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Amazon has pop-ups inside Whole Foods locations, Kohl's stores and malls around the U.S. The shops let customers try…
Amazon.com is planning to open a new grocery store chain in an effort to broaden its reach in the retail category, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Sources familiar with the project told WSJ that the online behemoth is planning to open dozens of grocery stores in several major U.S. cities, and the first…
Gap Inc. yesterday announced plans to create two independent, publicly traded companies: Old Navy and a yet-to-be-named company ("NewCo") that will consist of the Gap brand, Athleta, Banana Republic, Intermix and Hill City. Gap said the spin-off will enable each company to maximize focus and flexibility, align investments and incentives to meet its unique business needs,…
The United States is planning to delay additional tariffs on Chinese goods that were scheduled to begin on March 1, President Donald Trump announced on Sunday. In a series of posts on Twitter, Trump cited "substantial progress" in bilateral talks between the U.S. and China. As a result, the president said he would suspend the…
Tennis superstar and businesswoman Serena Williams is joining the board of directors of Silicon Valley-based social commerce platform Poshmark, the company announced Wednesday. “Poshmark is disrupting retail by making shopping and selling social again, and I love working with a company that gives anyone an opportunity to become an entrepreneur,” Williams said in a press release…
Amazon.com, the e-commerce giant helmed by Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, paid no federal taxes on profit of $11.2 billion last year, according to an analysis of the company’s corporate filings by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a progressive think tank. The news of the report was first publicly reported in The Washington Post,…
Outdoor retailer Recreational Equipment, Inc., or REI, says its president and CEO Jerry Stritzke has resigned for failing to disclose a personal relationship with the head of another organization in the outdoor industry, according to a company statement. REI's board accepted Stritzke’s resignation “following an investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding a personal and…
Toys”R”Us has officially emerged as Tru Kids Inc., a new company, with new leadership and a new vision, according to a press release published today. Effective Jan. 20, Tru Kids Inc. doing business as Tru Kids Brands, became the parent company of Toys”R”Us, Babies”R”Us, Geoffrey and more than 20 consumer toy and baby brands. Tru Kids is…
Sears Holdings got a new lifeline yesterday as its sale to company chairman Eddie Lampert, through an affiliate of his hedge fund ESL Investments, was approved by a federal bankruptcy court judge, according to CNBC. ESL has said the $5.2 billion deal to buy Sears will save 425 stores and roughly 45,000 jobs. While an initial…
Women’s apparel retailer Charlotte Russe Holdings on Sunday voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The Michaels Companies announced this week that it will close all of its Pat Catan’s stores in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 (March). Pat Catan’s is a retailer of arts and crafts in Ohio and surrounding states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia. Michaels intends to rebrand 12 of the 36 Pat Catan’s stores…
