Retail Recap Of The Week
Circuit City Gets Closer To Relaunch: In January, Circuit City’s new ownership announced it was opening the brand’s first store in Dallas by June. While a store has not opened yet, the brand is taking its time to get it right, according to new owner Ronny Shmoel.
“After we took a step back and listened to what people were saying, we realized the scope of the project needed to change,” Shmoel said in an interview with Twice. “The size of the store has increased to 6,000-9,000 square feet, and we are being careful with the design and layout and technology of the store to make sure it gives customers the experience they want to see in retail today, and is more scalable for future growth.”
Lands End Promotes Gebhardt To Chief Marketing Officer: In another move that highlights the changing role of CMOs within retail, Land’s End has promoted its SVP and Chief Creative Officer Becky Gebhardt to Chief Marketing Officer. In the role, Gebhardt will lead all aspects of creative and marketing for the brand. She was first hired as the company’s Chief Creative Officer in 2014, serving what has been her second go-around with the lifestyle brand. Given that more retailers are encouraged to build their marketing departments around a digital-heavy focus and the customer experience, Lands’ End aims to follow in the same footsteps to cater to its audience.
Costco-AMEX Partnership Officially Ends: As of June 20, Costco is accepting only Visa-branded credit cards throughout its chain, and some consumers already appear to be frustrated with the change. Upon ending its 16-year partnership with American Express, Costco switched its store-branded TrueEarnings Card to the new Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi. But in what was supposed to be a seamless transition between card providers, shoppers have had troubled opening their new accounts and paying existing balances that were transferred to the new cards.
Despite the outcry, the card offers higher cash-back rewards rates than its predecessor, including:
4% back on gas purchases at Costco and other gas stations (on up to $7,000 spent per year);
3% on restaurant and travel purchases;
2% on Costco purchases; and
1% on other purchases.
Microsoft Adds Tap-To-Pay To Mobile Wallet: Microsoft has introduced a tap-to-pay functionally to its Microsoft Wallet, giving the technology company its own competitor to Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay. The cloud-based payment technology is included in all Windows 10 Mobile devices, and will first roll out to members of the Windows Insider program. The wallet provides consumers with a place to store reward and membership numbers so they can reference or scan them right from their phone.
If Microsoft is successful in closing its $26 billion LinkedIn acquisition, the company could potentially use the new capability to expand into mobile person-to-person payments, according to Richard Crone in an interview with Bloomberg.
That’s all for this week on the blog, but don’t leave just yet! Feel free to stop by the Retail TouchPoints main site for the latest breaking retail news!
