Stores Weekly

Last week, more than 3,500 retailers, vendors, media and digital experts converged on Los Angeles for NRF’s annual Shop.org conference. The theme of “reinvention” permeated nearly every presentation as attendees explored new technologies and immersed themselves in stories intended to educate and inspire. STORES was onsite and will share coverage of some key sessions throughout the month.

Visit https://stores.org/2017/10/04/editors-note-shop-org/ to view the full article online.

Since acquiring Jet.com a year ago and making its founder Marc Lore head of ecommerce, Walmart has been a flurry of acquisitions and announcements. Lore joined Fortune magazine’s Andrew Nusca at Shop.org to provide insight into Walmart’s ecommerce strategy and how it steers such a big ship while continuing its rapid pace of innovation.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/how-walmart-keeps-its-innovative-edge to view the full article online.

Sticking to what’s always worked isn’t a path to success for most retailers. At Shop.org, GDR Creative Intelligence founder and CEO Kate Ancketill provided strategies for the industry to get ahead of consumer problems and the need to “surprise and delight.”

Visit https://nrf.com/news/the-consumer-is-your-boss-all-75-billion-of-them to view the full article online.

In the digital age, leading by example can be tough for retail executives who don’t know where to begin. At NRFtech earlier this year, best-selling author Erik Qualman explored evolving technologies that are empowering retailers to be disruptive — or risk becoming disrupted.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/erik-qualmans-5-ways-design-culture-of-innovation to view the full article online.

STORES' annual Retail Industry Software Sourcebook, the retail industry's definitive buying guide, is now available! Take a look at the digital edition of this annual directory, designed to help retailers of all sizes and in all channels find the applications they need to run a successful enterprise.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/nrf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=465008&issueID=56515 to view the full article online.

Magic Wallpaper from French home improvement store Castorama features a variety of digital markers such as panda bears and super heroes; users can download an app to scan the characters with a mobile device and unlock short stories.

Visit https://stores.org/2017/10/04/interactive-wallpaper-bonus-bedtime/ to view the full article online.

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

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/nrf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=465009&issueID=56515 to view the full article online.

NRF expects holiday retail sales in November and December — excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants — to increase between 3.6 and 4 percent for a total of $678.75 billion to $682 billion, up from $655.8 billion last year. View survey data.

Visit https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/nrf-forecasts-holiday-sales-increase-between-36-and-4-percent to view the full article online.

From triggering the food truck movement to landing on Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list, Kogi BBQ founder Roy Choi shared his journey and the philosophy that keeps him grounded with NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast. Listen to the episode.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/cooking-revolution-how-chef-roy-choi-developed-cult-following to view the full article online.

Register by Friday to take advantage of the early rate for NRF 2018: Retail’s Big Show, to be held Jan. 14-16 in New York City. Political figure and business executive Arianna Huffington, senior executives from Facebook and Instagram and the head of the Chobani yogurt brand will be among the keynote speakers as more than 35,000 retail industry leaders from around the world gather for the annual event. Register now.

Visit https://nrfbigshow.nrf.com/?utm_source=STORES_Weekly&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_content=earlyregister&utm_campaign=MK_AN18 to view the full article online.

Intermix, Gap Inc.’s luxury fashion brand, has deployed the Oracle Retail Merchandising Foundation Cloud Service, Oracle Retail Merchandising Insights Cloud Service, Oracle Retail Integration Cloud Service and Oracle Retail Store Inventory Management running on the Oracle Cloud throughout its franchise to drive end-to-end operational efficiencies and empower its business teams.

 

Postmates, the nation’s largest on-demand “anything” network, announced an expansion of its zero-emissions fleet initiative, which will enable faster deliveries in the Pacific Northwest while reducing the company’s carbon footprint. Through an expanded partnership with Silicon Valley-based GenZe, Postmates will launch a fleet of e-bike delivery vehicles in Seattle and Portland, Ore.

 

Perry Ellis, the iconic menswear brand, has debuted the “Ask Perry Ellis” Amazon Alexa Skill. Created for guys who need help figuring out what to wear for the many events on their calendar, this first-of-its-kind, voice-activated Skill supports the brand’s commitment to innovating through technology and generates a modern, frictionless shopping experience for every man by providing head-to-toe options that he can immediately shop.

 

Pet specialty retailer PetSmart has introduced the PetSmart Pharmacy, a new online-only pharmacy that offers convenient ordering and autofill for hundreds of prescriptions, OTC medications and veterinary diet prescription pet food, combined with a home delivery service.

 

Stage Stores Inc. announced that, as part of a plan to increase the efficiency of its distribution network, the company will close its distribution center located in South Hill, Va., by the end of fiscal 2017. The company operates three other distribution centers in Texas, Ohio and Nebraska. Operations from the Virginia distribution center will be transferred to these facilities.

 

Affirm Inc., the company started by Max Levchin to provide fair and honest consumer financing, announced that Detroit-based design brand Shinola is using Affirm’s point-of-sale service to put customers first in an era when a merchant’s values often outstrip price for shoppers making a buying decision — especially among Millennials.

 

California Tortilla has selected PAR’s cloud-based Brink POS software and EverServ 8000 terminals for all 51 locations, with plans to open six more restaurants by the end of 2017.

 

Decathlon, the largest sporting goods retailer worldwide, has partnered with LogiNext to extend the power of its superior distribution network in multiple developing markets. Through machine learning algorithms designed to read traffic and weather patterns from historical delivery movement information, LogiNext has set up a unique solution set for Decathlon that offers exceptional logistics movement visibility across geographies.

 

PredictSpring, a mobile commerce leader, has partnered with M.Gemi, a leading direct-to-consumer accessories brand, to launch its store associate app. The app aligns ecommerce and offline retail for store associates to provide an elevated customer experience. The app is currently offered at M.Gemi stores located in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood and Boston's Prudential Center.

 

ForeSee, the leader in voice-of-customer solutions, announced that Tailored Brands Inc. has selected the ForeSee CX Suite, the methodology-powered solution, to manage all of its customer experience intelligence from one place. ForeSee will enable Tailored Brands to leverage a unified view of the customer, with scientific measurement of CX across the entire customer journey.

 

Naf Naf Grill has partnered with SpenDifference to support its supply management function. As an integral part of Naf Naf Grill’s strategic growth initiative, SpenDifference will support the company’s rapid expansion by bringing a disciplined supply chain approach that delivers measurable savings and scalable processes to the organization.

 

Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Inc., two iconic American outdoor companies, have successfully completed the transaction in which Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s for $61.50 per share in cash, representing an aggregate transaction value of approximately $5.0 billion.