January 31 – Dollar General President/CFO Plans to Retire in June
John Garratt, president and CFO at Dollar General Corp., has announced his intent to retire, effective June 2. From: Progressive Grocer
January 30 – Tops Completes $1.4M Remodel in New York
In December, Tops unveiled a $1.8 million store renovation in Canandaigua, N.Y. Last fall, the retailer also welcomed shoppers to refreshed stores in Rochester, N.Y., and Cheektowga, N.Y. From: Progressive Grocer
January 30 – Williams-Sonoma Reorganizes Senior Leadership
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is implementing several changes to the executive leadership team at Pottery Barn that includes expanding the role of Pottery Barn’s Marta Benson. From: Store Brands
January 30 – Dollar General Launches 19,000th Store
Dollar General Corp. has opened its 19,000th store in Joplin, MO, today with a community celebration and a $19,000 donation to a local elementary school. From: HomePage News
January 30 – Study: Many Shoppers Crave Better In-Store Experience
Consumers have returned to shopping at physical retail stores in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they aren’t necessarily happy with what they’ve found. From: HomePage News
January 30 – Do it Best Names New Vice President of E-Commerce
Building on its commitment to drive member growth online and in-store, Do it Best has selected a proven e-commerce leader to steer its e-commerce division, announcing Allison Flatjord as the company’s vice president of e-commerce. From: Hardware Retailing
January 30 – Numerator: Consumers Worried About Economy, Discretionary Spending
46% of respondents anticipated cutting back on eating out and 41% on travel in the coming months as they try to offset rising prices. From: HomePage News
January 27 – Meijer’s 2 Smaller-format Stores in Michigan Now Open
Meijer’s smaller brick-and-mortar store concept—convenience-focused Meijer Grocery— opened its first two stores in southeast Michigan’s Orion Township and Macomb Township on Thursday. From: Winsight Grocery Business
January 27 – Sam’s Club Adding Locations, Boosting Distribution
The first of the 30 new clubs will open in Florida in 2024. From: HomePage News
January 27 – Analyst: Bed Bath & Beyond Debt Default Pushes It Closer to Bankruptcy
Bed Bath & Beyond has suffered from a troubled merchandising transformation that it has since been working to reverse. From: HomePage News
January 27 – Restaurant Vet Joins the Fresh Market
The Fresh Market, Inc. has named Nathan Baldwin as its VP of merchandising and foodservice. From: Progressive Grocer
January 27 – Walmart Offering New Marketplace Sellers Discounted Tools, Services
In a blog post, Manish Joneja, senior vp, Walmart U.S. Marketplace and Walmart Fulfillment Services, said the company aims to become its customers’ number-one shopping destination and the preferred easy-to-use, low cost and profitable platform for sellers of all sizes. From: HomePage News
January 26 – Inside Aldi’s Newest Chicago-area Store
Located on the northwest side of Chicago in North Riverside, Illinois at 7517 W. Cermak Rd., the 12,000 sq. ft. store is part of the grocer’s expansion in the Midwest.the From: Winsight Grocery Business
January 26 – Ikea U.S. Reports Sales, Operational Developments
In its 2022 Annual Summary, Ikea highlighted the company’s initiatives to address customers in new ways while taking care of people and the planet, even as it reported a small sales gain. From: HomePage News
January 26 – Kornbluth Named West Elm President
Kornbluth will report to Williams-Sonoma president and CEO Laura Alber. From: HomePage News
January 26 – Tractor Supply Posts Q4 Sales, Earnings Growth
Comparable store sales increased by 8.6%, driven by comparable average ticket growth of 6.3% and a comparable average transaction count gain of 2.3%. From: HomePage News
January 25 – Macy’s Debuts Hotel-Inspired Home Assortment
Macy’s continues to expand its assortment of private label home products with the debut of its Shash Diné Hotel Collection, a limited-edition array of home pieces created for Macy’s and curated by Baya Meehan. From: Store Brands
January 25 – Walmart Raising Worker Wages, Benefits
The raises will bring the company’s average hourly wage in the United States to more than $17.50. From: HomePage News
January 24 – Bricker Named to New CVS Position: Chief Product Officer, Consumer
In taking on a newly created role, Bricker will join the company in February, serve on the company’s executive leadership team and report to CVS Health president and CEO Karen Lynch. From: HomePage News
January 24 – Dreiling Replaces Witynski as Dollar Tree CEO
CEO and board member Mike Witynski is exiting Dollar Tree, and chairman Rick Dreiling will expand his role to assume the CEO title effective January 29. From: HomePage News
January 24 – Amazon Boosts Health, Personal Care Presence with New Prime Benefit
In so doing, Amazon also has not only rolled out a new Prime initiative, but it also has advanced its presence and status as a destination in the personal care and wellness sector where the company offers everything from prescriptions to hand-held massagers to electric toothbrushes. From: HomePage News
January 24 – Trader Joe’s Eyes New Locations
Trader Joe’s is adding to its presence in Connecticut, readying its ninth store in that state. From: Progressive Grocer
January 20 – Batteries Plus Touts Record Expansion in 2022 — With More to Come
Batteries Plus has set a goal to acquire 60 additional store signings by the end of this year. From: Chain Store Age
January 20 – Ballard Designs Opens Austin Store, Number Four in Texas
The Qurate Retail Group banner and operator of ballarddesigns.com now has 18 retail locations across the United States. From: HomePage News
January 19 – buybuyBaby Launches Ever & Ever Private Label
The new own brand arrives as a modern interpretation of classic styles for the everyday activities of early childhood, according to the retailer. It is available now across buybuy Baby stores, the brand’s app and online at buybuybaby.com. From: HomePage News
January 19 – Dollar General Partners with Ibotta on Customer Rewards Program
Among its recent initiatives, the Ibotta partnership builds on the Dollar General March 2022 announcement of enhanced financial services, which includes its exclusive Spendwell banking platform and FIS Worldpay card rewards points payment options. From: HomePage News
January 19 – KPMG: Retail Executives Ready for Challenging 2023
Overall, the retail executives said 2022 was a prosperous year with 80% of those surveyed reporting increasing top-line revenue from 2021 and 75% reporting increases in operating profit. From: HomePage News
January 18 – Party City Files for Bankruptcy as it Looks to Restructure Debt
The company said its more 800 Party City stores and e-commerce site remain open for the business during the proceedings. From: Chain Store Age
January 18 – Weis Markets Names Director of GM and HBC
Weis Markets has promoted Tonya Woytowich to the position of director of general merchandise (GM) and health and beauty care (HBC), reporting to Mike Gross, VP of center store sales and merchandising. From: Progressive Grocer
January 18 – NRF: Holiday Sales Growth Short of Forecast
Grocery and beverage stores up 7.8% and General merchandise stores up 3.8%. From: HomePage News
January 18 – Deloitte: Pandemic-Honed Capabilities Can Propel Retailers Through 2023
Executives surveyed by business services provider Deloitte expect inflation to pressure their profit margins in 2023 as six in 10 anticipate inflation raising their operating costs even as other issues, particularly labor loom over the year ahead. From: HomePage News
January 17 – Whole Foods Now Accepts Zappos Returns
Whole Foods Market stores nationwide will now accept label free, box free returns of Zappos.com orders. From: Grocery Dive
January 17 – Change Underway in Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom Leadership
Nordstrom has announced that chief merchandising officer Teri Bariquit is retiring. She will remain in her role until the company identifies her successor to ensure a smooth transition. From: HomePage News
January 17 – Euromonitor: Top 10 Trends Track Changing Consumer Priorities
The Euromonitor report also touches on how digitization is influencing the purchasing processes, female equality demands and a disruptive Gen Z. From: Homepage News
January 17 – Target Lauds 2022 Store Expansion, Looks to Future Growth
The company has opened 23 new locations that will potentially serve two million additional customers, and it is looking to add more as it increases features designed to enhance the customer experience. From: HomePage News
January 17 – Gen Z is Driving Luxury Sales as Wealthy Shoppers Get Younger
Luxury shoppers are getting wealthier and younger, with purchases by some of the newest consumers expected to grow three times faster than older generations over the next decade, according to a new report. From: CNBC
January 13 – Crate & Barrel Unveils Spring Looks
The lookbook highlights include exclusive Staub Eucalyptus heirloom-quality French cookware inclusive of a three-baking dish set and a 5.5-quart Dutch oven. From: HomePage News
January 13 – Meijer Revamps, Personalizes Loyalty Program
The enhanced mPerks loyalty program offers more personalized rewards and savings with customers now earning points for every dollar spent and every qualifying prescription filled, along with additional opportunities to earn even more points. From: HomePage News
January 13 – QVC Streaming Service Adds Fork U Academy
Fork U Academy is launching a new program series on QVC+ hosted by Mark Gill, self-proclaimed foodie and video host. From: HomePage News
January 12 – Walmart, Salesforce Strike Deal on B2B Services
The partnership with Salesforce will provide retailers access to the scalable technologies that Walmart uses, enabling them to personalize and establish easy commerce experiences with real-time order visibility and reliable local pickup and delivery. From: HomePage News
January 12 – Lowe’s Brings Updated Media Program In-House
Businesses can work with in-house Lowe’s experts to help them scale, personalize and optimize their search campaigns, with integrated partnerships across the company’s merchandising, marketing and operations. From: HomePage News
January 10 – H-E-B Opening Multi-level Store with Lake Views, Multiple Restaurants
The regional grocery powerhouse will open a 97,000-sq.-ft. location in Austin on February 15. From: Chain Store Age
January 10 – Albertsons Beats Q3 Estimates as inflation Fuels Results
Albertsons on Tuesday posted results for the third quarter of 2022 that exceeded analysts’ expectations, with net sales and other revenue up 9% year-over-year, to $18.2 billion. From: Grocery Dive
January 9 – CEO Donigan Departs Rite Aid, Burr Named Interim Chief
Rite Aid stated that the company has initiated a search to identify a permanent CEO and has retained a leading executive search firm. From: HomePage News
January 9 – Macy’s Q4 In Line with Expectations Despite Holiday Lulls
In announcing the updated financials, Jeff Gennette, Macy’s chairman and CEO, said, “Our teams executed well during a competitive holiday season”. From: HomePage News
January 6 – Costco Comps Grow Again in December
For the month of December, Costco reported net sales of $23.8 billion for the retail month of December, the five weeks ended January 1, up 7%. From: HomePage News
January 6 – Walgreens Boots Alliance Beats Street Estimates in Q1
Retail comparable sales in the United States helped boost Walgreens Boots Alliance sales in the fiscal first quarter to a beat over Wall Street estimates. From: HomePage News
January 5 – Shopify Establishes Tools for Larger E-Commerce Retailers
Shopify is opening its operations to power the biggest retailers in the world with Commerce Components, the company announced. From: HomePage News
January 5 – SpartanNash Acquires Great Lakes Foods and its Midwest Distribution Center
The Great Lakes Foods distribution center serves approximately 100 independent grocery customers across the Midwest and employs 125 workers. From: Winsight Grocery Business
January 4 – NRF: 2023 Economic Outlook Uncertain as Fed Tackles Inflation
“There are downside risks both in doing too much and too little, and the Fed is well aware that the balance is delicate,” NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz observed. From: HomePage News
January 4 – Bloomingdale’s Readying Bloomie’s Store in Seattle
The smaller concept format extends the Macy’s Bloomingdale’s banner to suit a wider variety of locations, including those that wouldn’t suit its core department store operations. From: HomePage News
January 4 – Total Holiday Spend Grew Nearly 7% in 2022: Report
GlobalData’s report also indicated that more consumers were looking for discounts during the 2022 holiday season. From: Retail Dive
