NEW YORK — Target Corp. vowed to update hundreds of stores and make other investments in its business after it delivered a disappointing 2016 in terms of sales and earnings. The Minneapolis-based company pledged to spend $7 billion over the next three years to remodel more than 600 of its 1,800 stores, accelerate the expansion
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens has appointed Joseph Hartsig as chief merchandising officer and Adam Holyk as chief marketing officer. The chain also named Steve Turner vice president and chief information officer. All three will start in their new positions on April 1. Hartsig and Holyk will report to Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) co-chief operating
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Stepping up its battle against Amazon.com Inc., Walmart is piloting an “endless” toy aisle in selected Texas stores. The retailer has deployed touchscreens in toy departments to link shoppers to all inventory. Products that are not in stores can be ordered online. “We’re testing how to interact with the customer differently, understanding
WASHINGTON — U.S. retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in February compared with the month before, the National Retail Federation said earlier this month. NRF also calculated that February’s sales were up 0.8% on an unadjusted basis from a year earlier. The numbers exclude automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants. “Sales growth held up well,
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Southeastern Grocers LLC said that its Fresco y Más footprint grew to 11 stores this month with the addition of five new locations, in Miami and Hialeah, Fla. The company, which also operates the BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie chains, opened its first six Fresco y Más stores between June and December of
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer Inc. announced that it is making home delivery available across its six-state footprint. The retailer said it is teaming with smartphone app Shipt to bring home delivery to shoppers here in Grand Rapids, beginning March 29. The service will also be made available to shoppers in the Indianapolis and Fort
SALISBURY, N.C. — Ahold Delhaize’s Food Lion chain said that its $178 million project to remodel 93 grocery stores in the Greensboro, N.C., market will be completed by August. Greensboro is the fifth market to get store upgrades as part of an initiative called “Easy, Fresh and Affordable … You Can Count On Food Lion
ARLINGTON, Va. — An innovation center aimed at helping retailers explore the business applications of virtual reality, artificial intelligence and other technologies is being launched by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and Accenture. With the new (R)Tech Center for Innovation, Accenture and RILA will conduct joint research and bring together retailers and technology start-ups
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health announced that it has earmarked $10 million in new and expanded partnerships and programs for the “Be The First” campaign, an initiative it launched last year with the aim of forming the first generation of Americans to spurn tobacco. CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation last year pledged $50
WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation and the Object Management Group (OMG) announced earlier this month that they had formed a partnership to manage some activities performed by the Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) division of NRF. “This arrangement will allow NRF to focus on ARTS’ core mission of collaboration, education and research while
The movement of mass retailing executives continues, with a number of high-profile departures from some of America’s largest retailers. In some cases the moves involve companies that are struggling to right themselves after a period of indifferent performance. All the more reason to ask why. Are the departures centered on quality-of-life issues, involving remuneration and
A powerful late-winter storm earlier this month derailed the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ ambitious plans for RxImpact Day on Capitol Hill. Snow, sleet and freezing rain in Washington, D.C., and more severe conditions northward up the East Coast prompted cancelation of the annual event, which would have brought together some 400 industry advocates,