
Retail Stores

When it comes to the e-wallet market, only one name really holds weight: PayPal. American Express hopes to change all that with its new service, Serve. A digital payment and commerce platform, Serve will give consumers the ability to spend, send, and receive money on the internet just like PayPal.
In the latest case of cheap does chic, New York fashion label Proenza Schouler has accused discount retailer Target of copying one of its sought after bag designs. Priced at a mere $34.99, Target’s Mossimo messenger bag bares a strikingly similar resemblance to the Proenza Schouler PS1 satchel which sells for $1,995, and is carried by Kate Beckinsale, Mary-kate Olsen and Nicky Hilton.
As it approached 50, New York City drugstore chain Duane Reade was undergoing something of a midlife crisis. With crowded, cluttered stores, it was perceived as a handy but unpleasant shopping experience.
Dillard's, Sears and Family Dollar were ranked as "least admired" in 2010. Companies were ranked based on nine different aspects of their business, including innovation, management and competitveness.
The Easter Bunny may look fluffy and cute, but retailers know there's a lot of consumer-toned muscle beneath that fuzzy exterior. Easter may not have the profile of other more secularly oriented holidays, but the bunny is a retail beast. Easter brought in more than $14 billion last year, accounting for 6.1 percent of all holiday spending.
Talbots has seen little success in its bid to shed a stodgy image and attract a younger clientele. Now it's back to focusing on its core customers and the move seems to be paying off.
The Wall Street Journal's Dan Gallagher reports that retailer GameStop saw its revenue jump 10 percent thanks to the chain's catering to hard-core gamers
Wet Seal reported that net income for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 29 dropped to $5.3 million, compared with $74.2 million in the year-ago period. Last year’s fourth quarter included a noncash tax benefit of $64.7 million.
The nation’s capital tops a list of the healthiest retail markets for 2011. The ranking is based on the general overall health of a marketplace and includes such factors as overall economic indicators, income growth, ongoing construction, rental rate trends, and the amount of retail demand in the market.
Rue La La announced that it'll host a unique boutique featuring special-edition Japan Relief T-shirts created by Tory Burch. "The earthquake and tsunami in Japan triggered a need to help in all of us," said Ben Fischman, chief executive officer, Rue La La.