Stores Weekly

As a premium luxury brand, Hugo Boss needs to be conservative with discount incentives, says Anthony Milano, the company’s vice president of e-commerce. Rather than drive traffic with an across-the-board discount, the retailer offered an incentive specifically to customers with a lower propensity to buy.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/what-will-the-customer-do-next to view the full article online.

Long a one-stop-shop for do-it-yourselfers in Washington state, a large part of McLendon Hardware’s success stems from the pride it takes in its team members. “We’ve spent a lot of time cultivating people that are able to offer expert advice to customers,” says IT Director Nathaniel Polky, “and we want to make sure we have solid systems and processes to retain and bring in new team members.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/happy-staff-happy-customers to view the full article online.

Law enforcement and retailers work closely throughout the year in such areas as shoplifting, fraudulent payment card use and merchandise return scams, but during the heavy holiday shopping period, the focus turns to cautioning shoppers not to become victims of a crime.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/partners-prevention to view the full article online.

The median turnover rate for part-time employees is reported to be 67 percent, according to the Hay Group. Retailers including IKEA and Staples have introduced programs to help retain employees and reduce turnover: IKEA’s U.S. division plans to expand paid benefits for all workers welcoming a new baby, while Staples has launched a new student loan repayment plan for selected associates.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/stores-trends-january-2017#HayGroup to view the full article online.

One of the new year’s traditions is the announcement of the color palette for the coming months, and 2017 does not disappoint. PANTONE’s Greenery is described as “a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring,” while paint companies Benjamin Moore and PPG Paints both went to the purple palette for their selections.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/stores-trends-january-2017#colorpalette to view the full article online.

On the heels of the Millennial generation, Generation Z is the next new crop of consumers and research shows they already display characteristics different than those who came before. A new report from NRF and IBM explores the group’s technology preferences, cyber-savviness and influence on the economy.

Visit https://nrf.com/resources/retail-library/uniquely-gen-z to view the full article online.

HSNi CEO Mindy Grossman has been elected chairman of the NRF Board of Directors, while Neiman Marcus Group President and CEO Karen Katz has become chair of the NRF Foundation. “Mindy Grossman represents the future of our industry but also understands and values its roots,” says NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

Visit https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/hsni-ceo-chair-national-retail-federation to view the full article online.

In a keynote session at Retail’s BIG Show, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President and CEO William Dudley warned that a border adjustment tax would have “unintended consequences” for American consumers. Analysis by NRF and many of its member companies indicates that the proposed tax would drive up costs, erode profits and exceed any benefits from a lower corporate tax rate.

Visit https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/new-york-fed-ceo-warns-of-unintended-consequences-of-border-adjustment-tax to view the full article online.

Effective Jan. 27, General Growth Properties Inc. will officially change its name to GGP Inc. Founded in 1954, the company began as a real estate developer of grocery anchor strip centers and evolved into one of the preeminent developers of regional shopping centers.

 

HowGood, an independent research organization and the best source of information on the food we eat, announced a partnership with Ahold-Delhaize. The partnership will start by testing Giant-Landover stores in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area.

 

NEJ Inc., a global leader in reverse logistic excess inventory solutions for specialty store retailers and famous brands, announced the acquisition of Bills Khakis, the iconic American brand and designer of premium men’s sportswear, from private equity firm Source Capital LLC.

 

Reed Krakoff will join Tiffany & Co. in the new position of chief artistic officer, effective February 1, directing design for Tiffany & Co. brand jewelry as well as luxury accessories, and leading the brand’s overarching artistic and design vision with respect to stores, e-commerce, marketing and advertising.

 

Jenny Craig, a leading weight loss program, has selected Ingenico Group’s iPP 350 smart terminals to enable secure payment acceptance across all of its company-owned and franchised centers in the United States.

The Yankee Candle Company Inc. has selected solutions led by Toshiba TCxWave, a versatile point-of-sale solution that provides stylish design, durability, transaction time improvement and ergonomics to modernize the store associates’ environment and improve the customer checkout experience.