Stores Weekly

First Edition

Championing innovation, building a brand

People wear jeans — but they “live in Levi’s.” It’s an expression that defines the iconic brand, summing up not just what the brand is about but also Levi Strauss & Co. President and CEO Chip Bergh’s approach to reenergizing and reinvigorating the company.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/01/13/championing-innovation-building-a-brand/?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=NRF2019&utm_content=Visionary to view the full article online.

A big show for a big and vibrant industry

BJ’s Wholesale Club Chairman, President and CEO Chris Baldwin opened NRF 2019: Retail’s Big Show in grand style, balancing the “big” of retail with the impact of its individual innovative leaders. It is, he noted, the largest retail conference and expo worldwide. The 108th annual event drew nearly 40,000 attendees from across the globe, including 700 exhibitors, and was expected to bring a $45 million impact to New York City.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/01/14/a-big-show-for-a-big-and-vibrant-industry/?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=NRF2019&utm_content=Opening%20remarks to view the full article online.

Walmart continues to scale up with tech

In a session at Retail's Big Show, Jeremy King, Walmart’s executive vice president and CTO, fielded a wide-ranging series of questions from Sara Castellanos, reporter for The Wall Street Journal’s CIO Journal. Touching on blockchain, robots, machine learning, virtual reality, cloud services, improved customer experience, open-source software, store connectivity, Black Friday, competing with Amazon and other issues, King painted a picture of a giant not just of retail, but also of innovation and transformation from the inside out.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/01/14/walmart-continues-to-scale-up-with-tech/?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=NRF2019&utm_content=Walmart%20tech to view the full article online.

How technology connects consumers to products

Having a fully connected home today is realistic and available in the mass market, although still more of a luxury; 30 percent of consumers already own some sort of smart device and, according to Gartner Predicts, by 2022 a typical home could contain more than 500 smart devices. At Retail's Big Show, a panel on the advances that connect our world included Jonathan Hall, brand marketing director at Whirlpool, Sleep Number President and CEO Shelly Ibach, and Tim Woods, general manager of the Autonomous Vehicle Alliance. Each conveyed how their companies bring ease, convenience and anticipation to consumers’ lives.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/01/15/how-technology-connects-consumers-to-products/?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=NRF2019&utm_content=Tech%20connects to view the full article online.

Target stores up successes

Brian Cornell, chairman and CEO of Target Corp, has just four simple keys for success in future retail. But as he well knows, they aren’t easy. Speaking at Retail's Big Show to a packed house during “More in Store: Target Invests in its Guests and Its Future,” Cornell said whether in an up market or down market, whether a big or small company, these truths remain.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/01/15/target-stores-up-successes/?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=NRF2019&utm_content=Target to view the full article online.

Digital natives get physical

On Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019, Retail's Big Show kicked off with dynamic panels, workshops and discussions pertaining to all different areas of retail. A panel on the process and results of digital native companies turning to physical locations included Drew Green, CEO of Indochino, Jen Braunschweiger, vice president of brand marketing at MM.LaFleur, and Eleanor Morgan, chief experience officer at Casper.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/01/15/digital-natives-get-physical/?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=NRF2019&utm_content=Digital%20natives to view the full article online.

Attracting customers? How about attracting tech talent?

Sephora and Stitch Fix, both located in the San Francisco Bay Area, are well accustomed to competing for tech talent in the backyard of the Big Four: Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple. All the same, human resources representatives see advantages for the critical talent to work in retail instead.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/02/05/attracting-customers-how-about-attracting-tech-talent/?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=NRF2019&utm_content=Tech%20first 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=543626&issueID=64440 to view the full article online.

Trends

Justice expands its brand to save the universe

Right in step with the female empowerment groundswell of recent years, tween girl clothing and accessories brand Justice recently released the first book in a graphic novel series from its new entertainment division, Justice Studios. “Ultra Squad” follows fours tween girls as they use their magical superpowers to save the universe.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/02/06/justice-expands-its-brand-to-save-the-universe/ 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=543627&issueID=64440 to view the full article online.

NRF News

How Birchbox has broken out of the subscription box

When it launched in 2010, beauty company Birchbox pioneered the subscription box model. The beauty industry has changed, and so has Birchbox. In this episode of NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast, Birchbox co-founder and CEO Katia Beauchamp shares more about a newly announced partnership with Walgreens and the evolution of the disruptive beauty brand.

Visit https://nrf.com/blog/birchbox-ceo-evolution-disruptive-beauty-brand?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=Retail%20Gets%20Real&utm_content=Birchbox to view the full article online.

U.S. retail sales expected to increase at least 3.8 percent in 2019

NRF’s 2019 economic forecast projects that U.S. retail sales will grow between 3.8 and 4.4 percent to more than $3.8 trillion. Despite threats from the ongoing trade war, the volatile stock market and the effects of the government shutdown, the “state of the economy is sound,” says NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

Visit https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-says-state-economy-sound-and-forecasts-retail-sales-will-grow?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=Retail%20Sales&utm_content=Forecast to view the full article online.

Retailers ramp up investment in intelligent automation

Today, retailers are investing in "intelligent automation" — a new combination of technology in which automation is driven by artificial intelligence. And it's an innovation that will change the shopping experience in even more impactful ways than the smartphone has — some obvious and some invisible. NRF's Mark Mathews outlines how.

Visit https://nrf.com/blog/retailers-ramp-investment-intelligent-automation?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=NRF%20Research&utm_content=IBM%20Automation%20Study to view the full article online.

National Retail Federation