Stores Weekly

Steven Keith Platt is wired to know robots. Platt, who is director and research fellow at the Platt Retail Institute and research director at the Retail Analytics Council, has been enamored with all things robotic since he was a child. Here, he discusses the fast-changing future of retail and robotics.

Visit https://stores.org/2018/04/23/robot-radical/ to view the full article online.

Today’s consumer is focused on speed, convenience and value. As a result, the number of retail transactions happening through mobile devices is growing — quickly. Seeking a way to improve the fuel transaction for customers, Phillips 66 recently introduced a mobile payment system for its network of 6,800 branded retail locations.

Visit https://stores.org/2018/04/23/pumping-up-mobile-pay/ to view the full article online.

Drug addicts who were shoplifting to support their habits sparked a drive against organized retail crime that has precipitated a sharp drop in theft from retailers and related return fraud in Mentor, Ohio.

Visit https://stores.org/2018/04/24/ohio-city-sees-success-retail-theft-deterrent-program/ to view the full article online.

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.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/nrf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=500174&issueID=56544 to view the full article online.

Private brands play an increasingly important role in the future of retail, according to Daymon’s first Private Brand Intelligence Report, which proves that “if you don’t have a solid private brand strategy, you’re dead in the water.”

Visit https://stores.org/2018/04/25/private-brands-get-board/ to view the full article online.

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.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/nrf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=500175&issueID=56544 to view the full article online.

Danielle Nicole CEO Danielle DiFerdinando not only creates classic handbags for upscale retailers, but also imaginative bags featuring Disney and Harry Potter characters. On this episode of NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast, Ferdinando chats about her design process, being named one of Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 and what drives her creative spirit.

Visit https://nrf.com/blog/making-magic-disney-danielle-nicole-designs-around-icon to view the full article online.

After noticing she was one of too few women in tech, Randi Zuckerberg founded Zuckerberg Media to bring tech and science to women and girls in underserved communities. Zuckerberg is passionate about diversifying the tech industry and will be a keynote speaker at the Shop.org 2018 conference September 12-14 in Las Vegas.

Visit http://www.shop.org/speaker/randi-zuckerberg to view the full article online.

Born in 1995 or later, Generation Z wants the ability to customize individual shopping experiences. According to a survey conducted by IBM, brands should focus on building a collaborative shopping experience to drive brand engagement among Gen Zers.

Visit https://nrf.com/resources/retail-library/what-do-gen-z-shoppers-really-want to view the full article online.

DSI announced t that M2C2 has chosen NoBlue and DSI to provide a warehouse solution centered around the NetSuite ERP. M2C2, the manufacturer of Viyella Menswear, Peter England, Tootal and Rocola brands, is a leading manufacturer of men’s shirts, knitwear and accessories.

 

Affirm Inc., the company founded by entrepreneur Max Levchin to provide fair and honest financial products, announced it will partner with brands and retailers to offer shoppers a simple, no-interest payment option on purchases of any size, via three easy, monthly payments. Now, Affirm’s financial products are available for purchases of any size, marking an expansion for the company.

 

Beyond Meat announced the introduction of Beyond Sausage. The breakthrough plant-based sausage will be arriving at Whole Foods Market stores nationwide soon.

 

Aerohive Networks, a cloud networking leader, announced that Colruyt Group, a leading retailer operating over 40 brands in Belgium, France and Luxembourg, is using Aerohive to deliver on its brand promise to offer the best-price guarantee, as well as operational excellence.

 

Yowie Group LTD. has expanded availability of its popular Yowie chocolates that are paired with kid-friendly wild animal figurines, at retail outlets across the U.S. Yowie chocolates will be available for purchase by the end of May at 7-Eleven stores and CVS Health retail outlets in 50 states.

 

Oracle announced that O’STIN has deployed Oracle Retail Demand Forecasting, Oracle Retail Planning & Optimization and Veltio APX Supply Chain Planning to create a product replenishment program that proactively anticipates customer demand. With the Oracle Retail and Veltio integration, O’STIN sought to improve the effectiveness of inventory fulfillment across 700 stores throughout Russia to better meet customer demand while protecting profitability.

 

Zegami, a visual data exploration platform company, announced that Seafolly has adopted Zegami to explore large data sets that will help them gain a competitive advantage. Seafolly has become the epicenter of Australian beach lifestyle and has quickly become one of the most recognized swimwear and beach lifestyle brands worldwide. Their success is attributed to adopting an omnichannel retail model, which is reinforced through data analysis that helps operations understand their business.

 

3M recently announced the complete integration of Elution Technologies, a Vermont-based manufacturer of test kits that allow food and beverage processors to test their products and manufacturing environments for potential allergens, such as peanut, milk and gluten. The new integration adds 33 allergen specific lateral flow and ELISA test kits to the 3M Food Safety product line.

 

eBay and PayPal confirmed the signing of a previously announced agreement to offer PayPal as a way to pay on eBay until July 2023. This new agreement builds on the payments partnership between the companies to make PayPal available as a payment option on eBay’s new intermediated payments model.

 

Fossil Group, Inc. and PUMA SE signed a global license partnership agreement for the design, development and distribution of PUMA watches and smartwatches through 2028.