WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts that retail industry sales will increase by 3.1% this year as the U.S. economy continues to strengthen and will provide consumers with greater confidence to spend. The report also predicts that online, mobile and catalog sales will grow between 6% and 9% this year. If the forecast
NEW YORK — Retailers are able to collect more and more data about their shoppers, but interpreting that information from the perspective of human needs and emotions is critical, Kristi Argyilan, senior vice president of media and guest engagement at Target Corp., said recently. Argyilan spoke at VentureBeat’s Marketing: FWD Summit, in a session called
BATAVIA, Ill. — Aldi’s highly anticipated foray into Southern California has a launch date: Grand openings for its first eight stores in the region are set for March 24. By year’s end, Aldi expects to have 45 stores in the region. The expansion is an integral part of Aldi’s five-year plan to open 650 stores
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Consumer satisfaction with the retail experience declined for the second consecutive year in 2015, according to American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC (ACSI). The management consulting company maintains a barometer called the American Customer Satisfaction Index, measuring customer satisfaction on a 100-point scale, with 100 as the highest possible score. Last year’s
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Kmart announced that the company’s Strategic Merchandising Group is actively sourcing extreme-value deals by purchasing the inventory of liquidated companies and other opportunistic situations. “The path to making Kmart great again starts with sourcing truly brag-worthy deals,” Alasdair James, the company’s president and chief member officer, said in a statement last
MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. said it held the first of the “demo days” it has planned for this year to help its innovation team find start-up businesses capable of developing new products for sale in Target stores and on its website. The team invited a dozen companies to the Target Technology Innovation Center in San
CINCINNATI — Kroger Co. announced last month that Jay Cummins, president of its Smith’s division, was retiring from the company after 44 years. No replacement was named. Cummins began his career with Kroger as a clerk in Huntington Beach, Calif., in 1972. He worked his way up the ladder at the company’s Food 4 Less
BOISE, Idaho — Albertsons Cos. has agreed to acquire and rebrand four Paul’s Market stores in Idaho. The stores, which will be converted to the Albertsons banner, are located in Homedale, Kuna, Boise and McCall, Idaho. Paul’s Market also said that it will close its three other stores, which are located in Caldwell, Mountain Home
MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. has promoted Stephanie Lundquist to executive vice president and chief human resources officer. In that position, Lundquist will be responsible for driving the human resources strategy for Target’s 347,000 team members globally, the company said. Lundquist will report to Target chairman and chief executive officer Brian Cornell. “Stephanie has played a
WASHINGTON — Steve Anderson, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, has been honored as the 2016 Trade Association CEO of the Year by an independent panel of association leadership experts. NACDS said that Anderson is just the third CEO to receive the award, which is presented by CEO
The chain drug store community is breathlessly awaiting the completion of Walgreens Boots Alliance’s acquisition of Rite Aid, a transaction due for finalization by midyear. The anxiety has less to do with any possible restructuring of chain drug retailing in America — this transaction pales in size compared to some that have preceded it —
Results from the latest iteraton of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) were released late last month, and they contain some worrisome findings for most of the nation’s mass market retailers. After reaching its pinnacle two years ago, the index, which is based on data drawn from interviews with some 70,000 consumers, fell for the