Stores Weekly

In recent months, a slew of reports have provided perspective on the state of the luxury industry. With the economy going strong, industry analysts are downright optimistic about luxury’s future — with the caveat, of course, that the definition of luxury is an evolving one.

Visit https://stores.org/2018/06/04/luxury-is-in-the-eye-of-the-consumer/ to view the full article online.

Humans have vision, but unintended bias often gets in the way of “seeing.” NRF PROTECT speaker Amy Herman helps business leaders use fine art to get past the brain’s pre-frontal cortex functions (analyzing tasks, setting priorities) and get right to objective facts.

Visit https://stores.org/2018/06/05/the-art-and-science-of-seeing-amy-herman/ to view the full article online.

How can brands uncover the next big consumer trend? The team at TrendWatching believes innovations create new consumer expectations. STORES editor Susan Reda reveals three trends that she's keeping an eye on.

Visit https://stores.org/2018/06/04/light-bulb-moments/ to view the full article online.

The way a loss prevention specialist conducts and manages themselves during an interrogation makes a huge difference in how many accurate, honest details they’re able to extract. That’s also true for human resources specialists, says NRF PROTECT speaker Lisa Mitchell, founder of Power Body Language.

Visit https://stores.org/2018/06/05/its-how-you-say-it/ 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=506315&issueID=56550 to view the full article online.

Consumers snap and post everything else, so why not sparkling water? Pepsi has introduced bubly, a drink in brightly colored, happy cans with messages like “I feel like I can be open around u.”

Visit https://stores.org/2018/06/06/say-oh-hi-to-bubly/ to view the full article online.

Makeup touchups are going one step further, thanks to Alibaba and Chinese shopping mall chain InTime. Now those in the mall’s restroom can virtually try on different makeup looks in an augmented reality mirror, then purchase the items from a nearby vending machine

Visit https://stores.org/2018/06/06/ill-be-out-in-a-minute/ to view the full article online.

Meal kits can be a godsend for busy families, but until recently, there haven’t been many options for vegans. Online meal kit provider eMeals has closed the gap, offering seven easy-to-cook vegan dinner recipes to subscribers each week. 

Visit https://stores.org/2018/06/06/no-meat-no-time-no-problem/ 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=506316&issueID=56550 to view the full article online.

When co-owners Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine took over Washington’s Politics and Prose seven years ago, they took on a big challenge: Growing an independent bookstore to adapt with evolving customer needs while continuing to serve the community that has supported it for 34 years. Graham discusses how they’re doing just that in this week’s episode of the NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast.

Visit https://nrf.com/blog/politics-and-prose-books-community-and-evolution-dc to view the full article online.

Southwest Airlines Pilot Capt. Tammie Jo Shults, who safely landed a plane in April after one of its engines exploded, will deliver an opening keynote address during the NRF PROTECT conference next week in Dallas. The former Navy Pilot made headlines due to her steady handling of Southwest Airlines flight 1380’s emergency landing.

Visit https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/heroic-southwest-airlines-pilot-deliver-keynote-address-nrf-protect to view the full article online.

Thefts, fraud and other losses from other retail “shrink” decreased to $46.8 billion in 2017 from $48.9 billion the year before, according to the annual National Retail Security Survey released today by NRF and the University of Florida. Shrink averaged 1.33 percent of sales, down from 1.44 percent.

Visit https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/nrfuniversity-of-florida-survey-says-retail-shrink-decreased-468-billion-2017 to view the full article online.

Arvato, a leading international customer service provider, announced their partnership with Shopmatic, an international ecommerce company, to provide customer service support for the company’s fast-growing ecommerce platform (which has grown 200 percent year-over-year).

 

Noventis Inc. and HighRadius announced an agreement to bring straight-through processing for virtual card payments to Noventis’ extensive supplier network. This marks the first commercial availability of HighRadius’ straight-through virtual card payment capabilities.

 

ADT Inc., the leading provider of monitored security and interactive home and business automation solutions in the United States and Canada, announced that, in addition to being the exclusive provider of security solutions for Tuesday Morning, it has now entered into a chainwide agreement for an extended service plan that includes maintenance for all security solutions.

 

Kibo announced that Griot’s Garage — a leading brand of car care products, detailing supplies and garage accessories for the car care perfectionist — has upgraded its website, powered by Kibo’s leading SaaS-based ecommerce platform and the YourZoom visual merchandising solution from DEPlabs. Since launch, Griot’s Garage has reported a 10 percent uptick in conversion rates and a 15 percent increase in time on site.

 

Amway has embarked on a digital supply chain transformation, working with JDA Software Inc. to standardize warehouse operations and increase order fulfillment effectiveness, resulting in a superior customer experience. Among its achievements, Amway has implemented 50 strategic warehouse locations across the globe with JDA, and in the last four months alone, 28 warehouse sites went live in record speed in India.

 

Blue Apron announced a partnership with the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) to promote community well-being and raise awareness for the benefits of sustainable gardening and cooking with fresh ingredients.

 

SiteOne Landscape Supply Inc., the largest and only national wholesale distributor of landscape supplies in the United States, announced the acquisition of Auto-Rain Supply. Auto-Rain is the leader in the distribution of irrigation and related products to landscape professionals in the Spokane Valley market, with five locations in Washington and Idaho.

 

HelloFresh announced its retail introduction, starting at 581 stores under the Ahold Delhaize U.S.A. brands Giant Food and Stop & Shop. As an independent food brand, HelloFresh will partner to increase its availability with more retailers throughout the year, including revitalizing the grab-and-go aisles for smaller format retail chains.

 

Fitlosophy Inc., an innovative line of fitness-inspired lifestyle products founded by entrepreneur Angela Mader in 2008, is excited to announce its acquisition by C.R. Gibson LLC, a CSS Industries Inc. company.