October 31 – Ross Stores Open 40 Stores
The new outposts complete Ross’ growth plans for fiscal 2022, which called for the addition of 99 new stores. From: Chain Store Age
October 28 – Target to Carry Marks & Spencer Holiday Items
The limited-time partnership offers highly giftable, on-trend products at value prices. From: Progressive Grocer
October 28 – Wegmans Readies Virginia Location
The 85,000-square-foot store will carry a wide range of products and include an in-store coffee shop. From: Progressive Grocer
October 28 – At Home Opens Three New Stores
The new stores are located in St. Petersburg, FL, Fayetteville, GA, and East Northport, NY. From: HomePage News
October 28 – Amazon Eyes More Cost Cutting After Q3 Earnings Slide
In a conference call where he cited macroeconomic issues looming over the business, Brian Olsavsky, Amazon CFO, said a priority in the North American business has been driving operating cost improvements. From: HomePage News
October 28 – H-E-B Location to Anchor Mixed-Use Community Near Houston
The H-E-B in Bridgeland will be built next year and is expected to open in 2024.From: Progressive Grocer
October 28 – Bed Bath & Beyond Offering More Shares To Boost Liquidity
Bed Bath & Beyond stated that it intends to use the potential net proceeds from the latest at-the-market sale to fund general corporate purposes including to drive immediate strategic priorities such as rebalancing the company’s assortment and inventory and addressing debt. From: HomePage News
October 27 – C2 Paint Debuts 2023 Color of the Year
The C2 Paint 2023 Color of the Year, Tiramisu, celebrates “origins” or the source from which all things rise, C2 announced. From: HomePage News
October 27 – Williams-Sonoma, The Barefoot Contessa Team for Cooking Events
The Barefoot Contessa is teaming up with Williams-Sonoma in an exclusive collaboration that will include a virtual book tour and an in-store event. From: HomePage News
October 27 – Walmart Upgrades Texas DC in Campaign to Automate Distribution
The multi-million-dollar investment in the 1.2 million square foot building is part of a broader initiative that Walmart announced last year to automate all 42 regional distribution centers and modernize its supply chain network to increase speed, efficiency and safety. From: HomePage News
October 27 – Macy’s Reveals Early Holiday Promotions
Deals will focus on home, fashion, jewelry, toys and family favorites, the company stated. From: HomePage News
October 27 – Office Depot Launches 2022 Holiday Promotions
Office Depot has announced its promotional initiative for the 2022 holidays including instant savings on top brands with new weekly bargains rolling out every Sunday and deals of the day running now through the end of the year. From: HomePage News
October 26 – Hy-Vee’s Upcoming Wisconsin Store Touts Green Bay Packers Connection
The latest Wisconsin Hy-Vee is located at 2395 S. Oneida Street in “Titletown,” not far from the iconic Lambeau Field where the Green Bay Packers play. From: Progressive Grocer
October 26 – Belk Appoints Morin President, Chief Merchant
After the departure of its former CEO, Belk has named MaryAnne Morin as president and chief merchandising officer. From: HomePage News
October 26 – Bed Bath & Beyond Removes Interim Tag from CEO Gove
Gove has 30 years of retail industry experience and has served in a variety of senior financial, operating, and strategic roles including president and CEO of Golfsmith International Holdings and COO of Zale Corp. From: HomePage News
October 25 – Amazon Adding Venmo Payment Option
Venmo availability will begin with select Amazon customers immediately and expand to all customers in the United States by Black Friday, the company stated. From: HomePage News
October 25 – Aaron’s Q3 Beats Wall Street Expectations
Aaron’s acquired BrandsMart on April 1. Aaron’s includes the namesake business, BrandsMart U.S.A., BrandsMart Leasing and Woodhaven. From: HomePage News
October 25 – Bed Bath & Beyond Launching Cross-Banner Holiday Promotions
Bed, Bath & Beyond’s Welcome Rewards brings savings and special perks to customers who sign up and shop online and in stores across the company’s banners. From: HomePage News
October 24 – BJ’s Expanding in New York
The new location will be BJ’s 47th in the Empire State and bring its total store count to 232. From: Chain Store Age
October 24 – Study: Holiday Shopper Budgets Won’t Budge
More than 63% of the JLL survey respondents said they plan to do at least some of their shopping in stores this year, up from 58% last year. From: HomePage News
October 24 – Walmart Deal Turns Customer Credit Card Points into Discounts
Thousands of financial institutions representing more than 7,000 card rewards programs have enrolled in the Premium Payback system, representing up to 45 million eligible cardholders, FIS maintained. From: HomePage News
October 24 – Kohl’s Lines Up November Holiday Initiatives
Newness will be an important element in holiday promotions, Kohl’s stated, across categories including outdoor, beauty, smart home technology, toys, pet, and emerging brands. From: HomePage News
October 21 – Lowe’s Rolling Out Expansive Holiday Initiatives
Lowe’s assembled the product line up to deliver thousands of gift ideas including lots of options for its DIYer and Pro customers. From: HomePage News
October 21 – Tractor Supply Q3 Comps, Earnings Gain
Tractor Supply opened 11 new namesake stores and two new Petsense by Tractor Supply stores in the third quarter. From: HomePage News
October 21 – Conn’s CEO Departs as Company Withdraws Q3 Guidance
On Holt’s exit, Conn’s announced that Norman Miller has been installed as interim president and CEO. From: HomePage News
October 21 – IBM: Consumers Keeping Holiday Options Open Amid Uncertainty
The study found that 2022 shopping budgets are up 8% over 2021, and holiday travel budgets are up by almost half, according to IBM. From: HomePage News
October 20 – Amazon Takes New Action Against Phony Reviews
Amazon has devoted significant resources to investigating and filing legal actions against fake review brokers to stop them from orchestrating phony reviews in its store, the company noted. From: HomePage News
October 19 – Walmart Launching Month-Long Black Friday Deals, Creator Platform
As it has over the past two years, Walmart will offer Black Friday-style savings over three events throughout November and cap off a month of deals with Cyber Monday. From: HomePage News
October 19 – Ollie’s Hires CFO
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc. has hired Rob Helm to the position of SVP and CFO, effective immediately. From: Progressive Grocer
October 18 – Second Bloomie’s Location Set to Open in Chicago
The 51,000 sq.-ft. location will offer a hyper-curated product assortment featuring top brands across all departments, which include apparel, shoes, handbags, home, beauty, and accessories; From: Chain Store Age
October 18 – REI Adds Former Bed Bath & Beyond Exec Tarbox
Her responsibilities include advancing the co-op’s goals for its retail organization including enhancing the employee experience, customer service and culture of continuous improvement. From: Homepage News
October 18 – At Home Expands Delivery, Adds Mobile App
At Home maintained that it had added new delivery partners DoorDash and Roadie to expand customer reach and make thousands of items available for same-day delivery from all its locations. From: HomePage News
October 18 – Kohl’s Spotlights Holiday Gifting as Macellum Questions Leadership
For the kitchen, Kohl’s is emphasizing products from KitchenAid, Ninja, Cuisinart and Keurig, the company noted. From: HomePage News
October 18 – Macy’s Bringing Santa to Stores and the Metaverse
The holidays at Macy’s will kick off with the lighting of the 115th annual Great Tree inside the world-famous Walnut Room at Macy’s State Street in Chicago in a celebration beginning on Saturday, November 5. From: HomePage News
October 17 – Trader Joe’s Plans 3 More Openings Before Year’s End
The new store openings will be in College Park, Md., Tigard, Ore., and Providence, R.I. From: Progressive Grocer
October 17 – NRF: Core Retail Sales Continued Growing in September
Sales gained 7.2% year over year for the first nine months of the year, keeping results on track with NRF’s forecast that 2022 retail sales would advance between 6% and 8% over those in 2021. From: HomePage News
October 17 – Placer.ai: Target Deal Days Enticed Store Visits
This year marks the first occasion that a Deal Days event fell on Saturday, and foot traffic data demonstrates that the overlap with Target’s weekly visit peak gave this year’s event a significant boost. From: HomePage News
October 17 – Amazon Prime Early Access Ends with Gains in Key Categories
To provide some holiday inspiration, Amazon has launched a selection of gift guides including those for home, toys, fashion, beauty, electronics, and Customers’ Most Loved Gifts. From: HomePage News
October 17 – Qurate Names Aiello Chief People Officer
Most recently, Aiello served as chief people and culture officer at Stitch Fix. From: HomePage News
October 14 – JCPenney Lines Up Holiday Promotions Including the Backstreet Boys
This year, JCPenney has set a We Got Your Holiday theme over its year-end promotions, which feature affordable décor, gifting solutions and free family entertainment among other seasonal enticements. From: HomePage News
October 14 – Walgreens Beats Street in Q4 with Ongoing Healthcare Focus
Sales in the quarter were $32.45 billion versus $34.26 billion in the year-earlier period. From: HomePage News
October 14 – Kroger, Albertsons Merging into Coast-to-Coast Supermarket Force
The combination creates an enterprise operating in 48 states and the District of Columbia. From: HomePage News
October 13 – ISM: Services Growth Slowed in September
The services sector suffered a slight pullback in growth for the month of September due to decreases in business activity and new orders,” Anthony Nieves, chair of the ISM Services Business Survey Committee, noted. From: HomePage News
October 13 – Bluedot: Inflation Looms Over Holiday Shopping
In Bluedot’s third annual Holiday Shopping Habits report, based on a September survey of more than 1,000 consumers across the United States coveted deals and discounts as they faced inflation. From: HomePage News
October 13 – Neiman Marcus Tallies ’22 Achievements
Although no longer publicly traded, the Neiman Marcus Group released fiscal year 2022 business highlights and the company’s work toward its designated goal: Revolutionizing Luxury Experiences. From: HomePage News
October 12 – Tractor Supply Completes Acquisition of Orscheln Farm and Home; to Divest 85 stores
Over the course of the next 15 months, the 81 stores retained by Tractor Supply will be remodeled to the Tractor Supply brand. From: Chain Store Age
October 12 – Walmart Rolling Out ‘Simple and Affordable’ Smart Home with Roku
Roku and Walmart are partnering on what they characterize as a line of simple and affordable smart home products including security cameras, video doorbells, lighting and indoor and outdoor plugs that allow users to control home appliances among other electrical devices. From: HomePage News
October 12 – HomeGoods Combines Rental Homes, Retail Promotion in New Initiative
HomeGoods is reimagining the typical vacation rental home and the typical retail promotion by offering an affordable trip this fall with the launch of House of HomeGoods. From: HomePage News
October 11 – Adobe: Amazon Stretching Holiday Shopping Season
With its forecast impacted by an Amazon promotion it expects will draw considerable purchasing into October, Adobe stated that it expects online holiday-period sales in the United States to grow just 2.5% year over year, reaching $209.7 billion. From: HomePage News
October 11 – BJ’s Opens New Headquarters As Store Growth Continues
As it continues expansion to new markets, BJ’s Wholesale Club has moved its headquarters to its new Club Support Center located at 350 Campus Drive in Marlborough, MA. From: HomePage News
October 10 – Target Launching Black Friday Weekly, Daily Deals Early
It may only be the start of mid-October, but Target Corp. has announced that it will launch holiday bargains three weeks earlier this year than last with the introduction of Weeklong Black Friday Deals and the return of the Deal of the Day. From: HomePage News
October 10 – Mastercard: September Enjoys Solid Retail Sales Growth
Retail sales in the United States, excluding automotive, increased 11% year over year in September, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, as a cooling housing market limited Furniture and Furnishings, and Hardware sector growth, but less COVID-19 pandemic concerns boosted Restaurants, Airlines and Lodging. From: HomePage News
October 10 – Port Tracker: August Import Volume Slipped Versus 2021
According to the monthly Global Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, imports at the major container ports serving the United States will likely reach their lowest level in nearly two years by 2022’s end even though retail sales continue to gain. From: HomePage News
October 7 – Walmart Acquires Alert Innovations to Speed Robotic Fulfillment
Walmart has been working with Alert to customize technology for its market fulfillment centers since 2016, the retailer noted in a blog post by David Guggina, senior vp of innovation and automation, Walmart U.S. From: HomePage News
October 7 – Costco Withstands Hurricane Ian to Gain Ground in September
In a conference call, the company stated traffic was up 2.6% year over year in the U.S. Best performing U.S. regions were Midwest, Northwest, and San Diego. From: HomePage News
October 7 – Artificial Intelligence Offers Real Advantages for Smarter Retailing Lily
Lily. AI uses artificial intelligence to ensure that the various search terms consumers use will lead them to the product that they want to find and beyond. From: HomePage News
October 6 – CommerceNext: ‘Generally Optimistic’ Retailers Ponder Holiday Challenges
Most merchants expect this year’s holiday sales to exceed their 2019 numbers, but not necessarily those from holiday 2021, which was a record year for most, leaving many optimistic but cautious about profits From: HomePage News
October 6 – JCPenney Seeking 22,000 Holiday Workers
“As our associates work hard to get America’s diverse, working families ready for the holidays, we are working hard to take care of you and are proud to offer premium pay to all hourly store associates, a great employee discount, plus access to unique employee benefits like WeeCare, a childcare services provider,” said Andre Joyner, JCPenney chief human resources officer. From: HomePage News
October 6 – Amazon Adding 150,000 Holiday Jobs As It Starts Promotional Push
Amazon is hiring for positions across the country, the company noted, but the states with the greatest number of available jobs include California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, Utah and Washington. From: HomePage News
October 6 – Nordstrom’s Tech Chief to Step Down This Month
Over a year ago, the department store said that its digital operations would be in focus as it worked to recover from the challenges of the pandemic and adjust to changing consumer habits. From: Retail Dive
October 6 – Qurate Retail Group names COO
Barnhart joins Qurate from Cardinal Health, where he was the president of global medical products and supply chain. From: Retail Dive
October 6 – Costco’s September sales increase 10.1%
Double-digital comparable sales growth in its home market gave Costco Wholesale Corp. a solid sales bump in September. From: Chain Store Age
October 5 – West Elm Goes Virtual with Roblox
The West Elm Home Design experience comprises the West Elm Hub and the West Elm Neighborhood. From: HomePage News
October 5 – Pottery Barn Holiday Collection Stars National Lampoon’s Griswolds
In partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, the Williams-Sonoma banner is rolling out a 13- piece collection that includes décor, bedding, tabletop, seasonal accessories, and holiday gifts. From: HomePage News
October 5 – Kaiser Permanente Exec Vemana Joins Target as Chief Digital and Product Officer
In his new role, Vemana will supervise Target’s digital business, including site merchandising, user experience, digital operations and product, and Target+, the company’s growing online third-party marketplace. From: HomePage News
October 4 – NRF: Recession Possible but Consumer Spending Still Bolstering Economy
In the October issue of NRF’s Monthly Economic Review, Kleinhenz stated consumer spending held up better than expected in August as overall retail sales as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau gained 0.3% from July and 9.1% year over year. From: HomePage News
October 4 – Amazon Creates Discount Hub as Survey Shows Shoppers Flock to Site
Amazon Access launches as a one-stop-shop for customers who can explore programs, discounts and features that make shopping on Amazon easier and more affordable, the company maintained. From: HomePage New
October 4 – Sensormatic: Black Friday Will Reign in Stores This Holiday Season
“We expect a busy holiday season at home and abroad,” said Kevin Viravec, Sensormatic Solutions president in announcing the year-end shopping predictions. From: HomePage News
October 3 – Petco Unveils Holiday Pet Offerings
Petco said that nearly 80% of pet parents plan to include their pet in holiday gifting. From: STOREBRANDS
October 3 – Bed Bath & Beyond Makes Progress on Supplier Payments
The company is holding its first vendor summit next month to “demonstrate consistent and proactive communication”, said interim CEO Sue Gove. From: Retail Dive
October 3 – West Elm Launches New Collections as Holidays Near
At launch, featured items include handcrafted housewares, home furnishings and gifts priced from $8 to $650. From: HomePage News
October 3 – Conference Board: Consumers Gained Confidence in September
In the Present Situation Index 20.8% of consumers said business conditions were good, up from 19% a month earlier, the Conference Board reported. From: HomePage News
