H&M creates new rewards program with bigger perks | Walmart partners with LeBron James to fight hunger | Fred's continues streamlining with plans to close 104 stores
Fashion retailer H&M has debuted a new, two-tier loyalty program with expanded rewards for its biggest-spending customers. Perks will include discounted blowouts at Drybar, invitation-only events and free-shipping offers.
Is Internet performance hurting your sales? If you can't see what's happening on the Internet, you can't improve it. And when milliseconds count in online consumer loyalty, you can't afford to fly blind. Meet with ThousandEyes at NRFTech 2019 to see exactly how the Internet is impacting your business and how you stack up to your competitors.
Walmart is partnering with LeBron James to support the charity Feeding America. The basketball star has chosen favorite items like peanut butter, iced tea and pasta that shoppers can buy to generate a meal donation from Walmart.
Discount retailer Fred's will shutter 104 stores by the end of next month, in addition to 159 closures announced last month. The closures, part of an ongoing restructuring, will leave the retailer with about 300 locations.
Sprouts Farmers Market is entering new markets this year, with plans to open more than half of its future stores in new territory, according to company executives. The grocer has also introduced prototype stores centered around customer experience improvements in the meat, deli, seafood and bakery departments.
Paris-based supermarket operator Auchan Retail will sell most of its Auchan Retail Italia division to Italian retail co-op Conad, for an undisclosed amount. Auchan operates approximately 1,600 stores in Italy, and last year it closed 23 underperforming locations.
Bandier founder Jennifer Bandier eschews the word "athleisure" in favor of "active fashion" to describe the multibrand activewear styles she sells at her growing stable of stores. Bandier opened its first store in New York City in 2016, with a fitness studio featuring classes from high-profile instructors and an event space for sessions on topics like skin care and nutrition.
New York City will welcome its first outlet mall when Empire Outlets opens on Staten Island. The 340,000-square-foot mall is currently around 80% leased and aims to win over shoppers with events and waterfront views.
Automation is poised to take on more of the repetitive tasks that have been part of retail jobs, a shift that's expected to free up staff for more fulfilling work and create new higher-tech positions. Executives from retailers including Walmart, IKEA and Kroger are focusing on training and preparing employees for the jobs of the future.
Most IT initiatives fail due to inadequate planning, expertise and organizational buy-in. At the NRF NXT conference in July, UNTUCKit Chief Digital Officer Lockie Andrews will talk about how the digitally-native apparel company has beaten the odds and created single views of customer and inventory to enable omnichannel success. Learn more.
Web developers with a retail background are 6% more likely to be promoted to a managerial role than those with a non-retail background. Source: NRF/Emsi "From Cashier to CTO" report.
While a growing number of independent stores are opening to sell products made from CBD -- the non-addictive, non-psychoactive compound derived from hemp and cannabis -- two quickly growing chains have emerged in Minneapolis. Read more on the growth of Nothing But Hemp and Flawless in NRF's STORES magazine.
Starting Aug. 9, Taco Bell will offer a limited-time hotel in Palm Springs named The Bell: a Taco Bell Hotel and Resort, which it describes as a "Tacoasis in the desert" with a brand-themed experience. A 15-second spot teases the hotel, which Global Chief Brand Officer Marisa Thalberg says "stands to be the biggest expression of the Taco Bell lifestyle to date."
