Sears Holdings Corp. has acknowledged “substantial doubt” in its ability to stay out of bankruptcy, which may kill recent sales of its businesses, such as Craftsman. The struggling retailer released its annual report on Tuesday, and the news was dismal. Based on information from …
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Lowe’s Virtual Reality Tool Teaches DIY Projects
Lowe’s recently launched a virtual reality tool in its Framingham, Massachusetts, store that provides customers with a hands-on training experience for DIY projects, reports Fortune. The new tool, which Lowe’s calls the Holoroom How To, trains users how to install tile in a bathroom …
Read More »J.C. Penney Sees More Opportunities in Home Improvement
J.C. Penney has started selling products such as bathtubs and power tools online and is expanding its services in some markets with basic bathroom remodels, The Dallas Morning News reports. The department store forayed into home improvement in 2016 by selling kitchen and laundry appliances in …
Read More »Kenmore Grills to Expand Beyond Sears, Kmart
Kenmore grills will soon be sold in retail stores other than Sears and Kmart as part of a licensing agreement Sears recently entered into with Permasteel, reports The Chicago Tribune. The agreement allows Permasteel to manufacture and sell Kenmore-branded gas grills …
Read More »J.C. Penney to Close 140 Stores, Offer Early Retirement to 6K Workers
J.C. Penney will close 130 to 140 stores and two distribution centers and will offer early retirement packages to about 6,000 employees, USA Today reports. The store closures would account for 13 to 14 percent of the department store’s total …
Read More »To Fight Terrorism, ‘Be Observant’ in Your Store
See Something, Say Something In mid-September, three men entered Lyell Crest True Value and bought pipe caps, pipe nipples, cable ties, roofing nails, electrical tape, timers, wooden matches and wire. At the checkout counter, the trio asked the cashier if …
Read More »Expert Perspective: Retail Is… Personnel
To view a PDF of this story, click here. When you look throughout your store, one asset is clearly more important than all the others: your employees. Without them, it doesn’t matter how great the building looks, how well the …
Read More »Banks, Retailers Spar Over Credit Card Swipe Fees
Financial institutions and retailers are revisiting a disagreement over limits on credit card swipe fees, Reuters reports. The Dodd-Frank Act, which became law in 2010, established regulations within the financial services industry. One of those regulations was a limit on how much …
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