Articles By Anna Rose Welch

51. JCPenney Sees Holiday Same-Store Sales Success 2/6/2014

    Fourth quarter comps up 2 percent, but investors remain unconvinced about turnaround progress for JCPenney. The company finally released some sales figures from its fourth quarter and holiday season after coming out of December and remaining pretty closed-lipped, to investors’ chagrin. During its fourth quarter, JCPenney reports that same-store sales rose 2 percent.

52. Jos. A. Bank Sets Its Sights On Eddie Bauer 2/5/2014

    After months of battling back and forth with Men’s Wearhouse over proposed acquisitions, Jos. A. Bank has taken several more steps away from Men’s Wearhouse, and is looking into an acquisition of Eddie Bauer, sources familiar with the matter have told the Wall Street Journal.  Currently, very few details are known about the potential acquisition. However, the possibility of a pairing with another retailer shouldn’t come as a surprise to the industry, considering Jos. A. Bank has been quite clear it’s been looking into other opportunities.

53. In A Connected World, Consumers Still Crave In-Store Shopping 2/5/2014

    A new study from Accenture finds more consumers plan to increase in-store purchasing in 2014. E-commerce is on the rise, but so is consumers’ interest in making purchases from physical stores this year, a new study by Accenture has revealed.  According to the “seamless retailing” study by Accenture, 21 percent of shoppers have expressed plans to increase in-store purchasing — an impressive jump from just 9 percent last year.

54. Online Retailers Not Meeting Consumers' Returns, Refund Expectations 2/4/2014

    A recent study carried out by StellaService reveals that online retailers aren’t meeting customers’ expectations for returns and refunds. To carry out the survey, analysts from StellaService ordered the same product from each of the 25 largest online retailers and had it delivered to different regions in the East, West, and Midwest. The analysts then returned the product, recording the total amount of time it took to receive the return authorization and a refund. The average amount of time it took to receive a refund was 10.7 days, which, according to another StellaService survey, is longer than a majority of customers expect a return should take. According to the survey on customers’ return expectations, StellaService found that 69 percent of consumers expect refunds in less than 10 days. However, only 36 percent of the top 25 online retailers met these expectations.

55. Amazon Kindle Checkout Systems Could Hit Physical Retailers This Summer 2/4/2014

    Amazon is looking into building Kindle-based checkout systems for brick-and mortar retailers, and it could even begin to offer merchants various other services, such as website development and data analysis. Sources with knowledge of the company’s plans told the Wall Street Journal that these Kindle checkout systems could be hitting retailers’ check-out counters as soon as this summer. However, this is still a work in progress, and one that Amazon could still decide to put on a back burner, revise, or even scrap, these sources say.

56. Mobile Payments Account For Nearly 20% Of Global Transactions 2/3/2014

    Ayden Mobile Payments Index finds consumers favor using tablets in retail e-commerce. Global provider of international and omni-channel payment solutions Ayden recently announced the results of its third Ayden Mobile Payments Index, which covered the period from September to December 2013. The data shows what many other studies have been revealing as of late: that mobile commerce is indeed on the rise. Mobile payments accounted for 19.5 percent of all transactions worldwide in December, up from 12.6 percent last December. This was a growth of 55 percent year-over-year. The index looked at the volume and value of mobile payments in five industries: travel, digital goods, gaming, retail, and ticketing. In particular, Ayden determined the retail industry’s mobile transaction volume has risen by 23 percent.

57. Walmart To Go Tests Click-And-Collect Grocery In Denver 2/3/2014

    Walmart hopes to give online grocery shoppers even more choice, now testing curb-side pick-up. The company has decided to test a click-and-collect grocery program at 11 stores in its Denver market. Currently, the company’s on-demand shopping service called Walmart To Go offers home delivery on general merchandise and groceries. However, as an attempt to enhance its omni-channel offerings for those looking to do their grocery shopping online, Walmart will now allow their Denver customers to order groceries online and pick them up at the store. The company aims to make the grocery shopping experience as convenient as possible for its customers; in fact, customers don’t even need to set foot out of their cars when they get to the stores. They only need to park at a designated pick-up spot and dial a phone number or enter the order into a touchscreen kiosk to let store associates know they’ve arrived and an associate will load the order into the trunk.

58. Abercrombie & Fitch Makes Key Changes To Board Of Directors 1/31/2014

    The retailer has separated CEO and Chairman roles, eliminating CEO Mike Jeffries’ chair. Abercrombie & Fitch announced some “significant changes” to its board of directors this week in order to appease concerned shareholders. While Mike Jeffries will remain the company’s CEO, the board stripped him of his title as chairman and will be replacing him with former Sears CEO Arthur Martinez, effective immediately. There will also be two new independent directors added to the board: Terry Burman, former CEO of Signet Jewelers and Barry’s Jewelers, and Charles Perrin, former CEO of Avon Products and Duracell International. The company also announced it would be eliminating its shareholder rights plan, or “poison pill,” which analysts say could encourage a leveraged buyout in the future.

59. Chico's Announces Brand Expansion Into Mexico 1/31/2014

    Omni-channel retailer expects more international growth following several brands’ expansions into Canada and Mexico. Chico’s anounced it will be crossing the border into Mexico, where it will be opening a stand-alone boutique at Perisur Mall in Mexico City this spring. Through its exclusive franchise with El Puerto de Liverpool, Chico’s hopes to open more of these stand-alone boutiques, along with at least 6 branded shop-in-shops in Liverpool department stores over the first half of 2014. The second stand-alone Chico’s boutique is already in the works and is expected to open in Villahermosa, Tabasco.

60. Saks Fifth Avenue And Nordstrom To Battle It Out In Toronto's Eaton Centre 1/29/2014

    Hudson’s Bay Co. to expand newly-acquired Saks into Canadian locations starting in 2015. Saks Fifth Avenue looks to join the ranks of other luxury retailers, such as Nordstrom, with plans to cross over Canadian border in what could be a key time for luxury retail in Canada. According to the Toronto Star, the Toronto Eaton Centre will acquire the Hudson’s Bay (HBC) store and properties for $630 million, and in return, HBC will open a 150,000 square-foot Saks Fifth Avenue flagship in the fall of 2015. The flagship will be located in the Hudson’s Bay store in the new south end of the Eaton Centre. HBC, which only recently completed its $2.9 billion acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue in November, also has plans to open another Saks store in Toronto’s Sherway Gardens in spring 2016.