Dog lovers Matt Meeker, Carly Strife and Henrik Werdelin founded BARK on the simple principle that
every dog everywhere — no matter the age, size or circumstance — deserves to be happy. Their first product, BarkBox, began shipping in 2012, changing the $69 billion pet industry. Since then BARK has focused on serving 60 million U.S. dog homes.

One of the best-attended and most widely discussed sessions at the recent NRF PROTECT loss prevention conference was a presentation by James Mullan, senior vice president of GDR USA, called “Retail’s Secret Innovation Lab: How LP can be the modern-day heroes that future-proof your business.” 

NRF is proud to provide our members with the online Retail Buying Guide to search for trusted vendors, products and services in the retail industry. Our guide is a user-friendly forum designed to bring suppliers and purchasers together. You can search by keyword, location, company name or category. Available whenever you need it, the Retail Buying Guide makes it easy to locate products and professional services geared to the retail industry. Click here to visit the online Retail Buying Guide! To advertise, please contact Sarah Allen for more information.

If one needs proof that the future lies in pairings, consider these new alliances. ASOS has teamed up with Crayola for a new makeup line that appeals to millennial nostalgia, harkening back to childhood with products and packaging that look like those old yellow boxes.

The digital edition of STORES includes must-read pieces, including the articles featured here. Read the current issue and browse the archives for issues you may have missed.

As head of retail strategy at Pinterest, Amy Vener helps retailers understand how to best use the Pinterest platform to achieve a competitive advantage within their industry. On this episode of NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast, Vener discusses how the social media website can generate sales by helping companies reach consumers earlier.

At NRF’s Shop.org conference, NPR’s “How I Built This” podcast host Guy Raz sat down with Kidbox CEO Miki Berardelli to talk about growing a socially powered brand and how the children’s style box service differentiates itself from other subscription services. Away Co-founder and Chief Brand Officer Jen Rubio also discussed how her travel brand is empowering customers to get out and see the world.

NRF issued a statement from President and CEO Matthew Shay regarding the administration’s plan to move forward with additional tariffs on Chinese goods. “Every time this trade war escalates, the risk to U.S. consumers grows. With these latest tariffs, many hardworking Americans will soon wonder why their shopping bills are higher and their budgets feel stretched.

Epson America Inc., a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale solutions, announced that MobileBytes, a key provider of restaurant mobile POS applications, has added the Epson TM-L90 Plus Thermal Label printer to its lineup of previously certified Epson POS printers for its cloud-based restaurant POS management platform. The functionality of MobileBytes’ platform combined with Epson’s POS printers helps address common problems in the restaurant industry such as order mix-ups, long wait times and connectivity issues.

Shoptelligence announced the launch of its AI-powered Interactive Ensembles technology for apparel and furniture retailers. The SaaS offering has proven to increase average order value by 66 percent across initial deployments – enabling retailers to merchandise their entire catalog at scale and maximize every customer interaction across channels.

Paytronix Systems Inc. announced that Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh has gone live with the new Paytronix-branded apps, which include native online ordering, a self-service content management system and a new UI/UX. Seamlessly integrating the Paytronix Rewards platform with Olo online ordering, the apps will help Garbanzo get closer to its goal of driving more than 50 percent of transactions through the Garbanzo V.I.B. Rewards program.

Stripe unveiled Stripe Terminal, a new product that allows online businesses and platforms to accept in-person payments with Stripe. While Stripe is known for powering internet companies such as Postmates, Salesforce and Zillow, Stripe Terminal extends Stripe’s infrastructure to the physical world. Now developers can build custom payments experiences for in-person transactions much like they would for online purchases.

CITCON, a leading cross-border mobile payment company in North America, announced a partnership with GK Software, a global leader in omnichannel retail. Through the partnership, GK’s North American customers will be able to immediately connect and accept payments from over one billion users of Alipay and WeChat Pay, the preferred payment options for Chinese consumers.

US Foods Holding Corp. is introducing CHEF’STORE, a new 50,000-square-foot wholesale shopping destination to support Charleston’s thriving culinary scene. This is the third CHEF’STORE in the Carolinas from national foodservice distributor US Foods. Designed as a one-stop shop for restaurant operators and food industry professionals, the store features an assortment of more than 5,000 food products including fresh meat, seafood and produce, as well as restaurant-grade equipment and other supplies.

Grupo Boticário, a global leader in the cosmetics industry with 4,000 points of sale in Brazil and a presence in 12 other countries, is teaming with SAP and SAP Ariba to build a connected and intelligent supply chain. Leveraging solutions from SAP Ariba, Grupo Boticário has created a simple, digital process through which it can efficiently manage and collaborate across the entire source-to-settle in a simple, smart and integrated way.

Macy’s Inc. announced that the company is highlighting advanced technology to enhance the omnichannel customer experience. Across the enterprise, new features are being introduced to make the Macy’s customer journey more convenient, efficient and fun, including both virtual reality and augmented reality furniture and beauty experiences that enable customers to discover product and make more informed buying decisions.

LunchboxWax, one of the fastest-growing body-waxing franchises in the country, announced a partnership with Universal Companies, offering franchisees a broader product range, as well as improve the selection of branded retail products that LunchboxWax guests can enjoy at home.

FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands Inc., parent company of Fatburger, The Last Great Hamburger Stand, is offering free delivery of their mouthwatering cheeseburgers, fries and shakes, courtesy of Postmates, beginning September 17 and running through September 23.

Allied Wallet, a globally leading provider of mainstream online payment processing, multi-currency merchant services, and a PCI Level 1 secured payment gateway, has partnered with CashDash to offer their eWallet app customers the option to withdraw their money at ATMs without a debit card.

Amazon opened “Amazon Storefronts,” a new store for customers to shop exclusively from U.S. small and medium-sized businesses selling on Amazon. With Storefronts, customers can shop a curated collection of over one million products and deals from nearly 20,000 U.S. small and medium-sized businesses and learn more about profiled businesses through featured videos and stories.

Kodak and fashion retailer Forever 21 have teamed up on a new apparel collection for the Fall 2018 season featuring some of Kodak’s many logos and designs from the Kodak brand’s storied history. The bright and vibrant apparel uses many of the original colors from Kodak branding and packaging from the 90s and draws inspiration from Kodak’s days as a standout NASCAR team sponsor.

Walmart Inc. announced the acquisition of Cornershop Inc., a leading online marketplace for on-demand delivery from supermarkets, pharmacies and specialty food retailers in Mexico and Chile. This transaction is an important step forward in accelerating the company’s omnichannel capabilities and growth in Latin America. It follows Walmart’s recent investment in Dada-JD Daojia in China and the strategic alliance with Rakuten in Japan.

Beyond Proper announced the launch of FitFinder as part of its mission to empower women with the conviction that confidence is the sexiest thing they can wear. The market-leading size advisor from Fit Analytics is now available for upper-body, lower-body and footwear sitewide at bostonproper.com.

Good Housekeeping magazine announced the opening of a three-month pop-up retail store inside the iconic Mall of America called GH Lab. Every product in the store has been tested in the GH Institute’s state-of-the-art labs by top scientists, chemists, engineers and tech experts — presenting only the best, most innovative products across wellness, beauty, lifestyle, smart home, kitchen, toys and more. Open to the public from October 3 through December 30, GH Lab will offer consumers the opportunity to experience, test and purchase more than 40 curated products in one convenient location.

Boot Barn Holdings Inc., America’s largest western and work wear retailer, has launched Idyllwind - Fueled by Miranda Lambert. The brand is inspired by vintage and retro looks with a modern fashion edge and a focus on comfort, fit and quality for the everyday girl. The product range of apparel, accessories and, of course, cowboy boots are true to Miranda’s spirit, reflecting her roots, personality and style – original, authentic and fearless.