Retail Industry Archive

Speaking to analysts during a second-quarter financial call on August 13, Blockbuster chief executive Jim Keyes said the video rental chain had drafted new revenue-sharing agreements with studios — “win-win” initiatives designed to increase the number of rentals at Blockbuster and improve profits for the studios on the backend. To the contrary, given the company’s...

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Forever 21 continues its fearless expansion push, a drive in the making for years now, with another bold move. The low-priced teen fashion chain is opening six large units in properties owned by bankrupt mall owner General Growth Properties. Two of the stores are going into Houston-area malls, while one each will enter properties in San Antonio; Louisville, Ky.; Las Vegas; and Birmingham, Ala....

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Kohl’s is facing a new future with a new chairman as Larry Montgomery retires and Kevin Mansell takes over the chairman of the board slot. Montgomery, who is only three years older than Mansell, led the company’s rapid rise to national prominence. And while Kohl’s still has room to grow, it’s also a maturing retailer. Mansell has been given the freedom to deal with taking what had been...

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Male apparel chain Jos. A. Bank Clothiers is surprisingly increasing its number of new store openings next year, while most chains are pulling the brakes on their expansion plans. Not only that, but the Hampstead, Md.-based chain and other retailers, which only considered opening stores in new shopping centers, are taking advantage of low lease rates and empty spaces in existing shopping...

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Wal-Mart and Target are locked in a battle of the bands, but they’re focusing on different generations. Wal-Mart last week announced that it would be the exclusive retailer for the latest album from popular Baby Boom generation rock act KISS. The album, Sonic Boom, will feature the band’s first new material in 11 years, with all distribution in the United States and Canada through...

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Drug stores have been shifting strategies to become more proficient providers of health services based on their pharmacy operations, but the recession may be complicating their efforts. A new report from Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based marketing firm, demonstrates that consumers have significantly changed their medication shopping habits in the economic downturn due to factors...

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Hybrid store concepts are suddenly all the rage among supermarket operators, and now Publix is planning to open a hybridized supermarket concept that combines elements of its standard format and it’s GreenWise Markets. GreenWise Markets emphasize organic and natural foods although they also offer some conventional fare as a convenience to shoppers, said Publix spokeswoman Shannon Patten. The...

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Macy’s has embraced more mainstream and celebrity brands of late from established – in some cases fairly described as aging – fashion plates as diverse as Tommy Hilfiger and Donald Trump, but now it’s rolling out a new, urban-oriented fashion line from designer Rachel Roy. However, the Roy move to grab a younger, hipper shopper is being contested, by J.C. Penney, itself a retailer...

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Target is trying to balance its proposition to consumers measuring, as the company puts it, the relative importance of the expect more and the pay less elements of its brand promise, or, as others might put it, weighing the cheap and chic ends of its popular reputation. No one should yet judge just how the matter might tilt, however. Lately Target has emphasized how it is making itself more...

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The current retail landscape might be littered with store closings and poor sales, but occasionally the industry is graced with some hopeful news. Lately a lot of that is coming from the deep-discount sector, and Dollar General’s announced IPO will likely be another success story in that arena. The Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based retailer’s parent, private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis...

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