Retail Industry Archive

Kohl’s today makes a statement in the Golden State, opening 30 new locations in California and boosting its total there to 121 as part of a 37-store roll out that also encompasses Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, Texas and Utah. The expansion is the fruit of Kohl’s Mervyns acquisitions in late 2008, when after year’s of struggle, that retailer succumbed. Of the 37 stores debuting, 35 are...

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Fresh & Easy has had a busy summer, as the evidence of its revised website suggests, not to mention a slew of new product introductions and resort to old as well as new media. Revised has a two-fold meaning in this case. On the one hand, the Tesco-owned chain has given its main site an upgrade, not only making it more colorful and interactive but, as spokesman Brendan Wonnacott noted,...

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The recession is hitting consumers all over the world, and market researcher Mintel has been doing an ongoing analysis of those effects, rendering them as five major trends that will continue to impact why, how and where consumers shop. Some are worrisome, but some reflect a desire for greater normalcy, or at least a desire to emerge from under the cloud of economic gloom that has been spanning...

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In managing a vast and encompassing retail enterprise, data, meetings and presentations can obscure that fact that a first impression is a critical issue, but that isn’t a reality that’s lost on Jim Sinegal, Costco’s CEO. Sinegal is famous for his visits at both Costco and rival stores. He recently made the point that the first impression is important as he evaluates stores, his own clubs...

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Fuel prices can be a big deal at retail, and although they might not be as big a deal to consumers as they were a year ago, research by The Nielsen Co., demonstrates that they still have an impact and suggests they could have a bigger one. Of course, during the summer of 2008, gas prices in the United States hit record highs that surpassed $4 a gallon and changes in consumer behavior became...

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Save-A-Lot was a small-format food retailer long before compact store concepts became popular among major chains, but it has been shifting from its original focus on grocery products to feature perishables and develop into more of a full-line supermarket operator for frugal consumers. And, in that way, it may be the supermarket of the future. In a certain manner, it came into being as the...

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Bed, Bath & Beyond’s strong financial position puts it in a particularly strong position to explore the opportunities an economic recovery might offer. That strength has allowed it to do something in the downturn that many other retailers have had to forget about, and that’s grow. And not just a store here and there. The company has been able to execute on its long-term strategy of...

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Giant, the Carlisle, Pa.-division of Ahold USA, is building on the work it has done developing a convenience store operation to expand the range of formats it operates, looking in part at smaller concepts that can help it reach more consumers. To advance its efforts the company promoted Ron Bagley to director of compact formats, a newly created position. Bagley, whose most recent position was...

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Reports that Citigroup might close or sell a chunk of its 1,000 bank branches as part of its plans to scale down its consumer-banking business spells more bad news for the retail real estate industry. And a lot of this type of news is coming from retail banking nowadays. This summer, Bank of America announced that it is closing about 10 percent of its 6,100 units.  The takeover of Washington...

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If you’re Tiffany and you’re opening a new store in Las Vegas, you have to fit the town and yet, somehow, live up to tradition, and a look at the artist renderings of the jeweler’s soon-to-debut space demonstrates that it is trying to do both. And, if it leans a little to the Vegas side of the equation, consider that people don’t visit that particular city to appreciate the subdued....

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