| February 18, 2011 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
- Nordstrom to acquire HauteLook for up to $270 million in stock
Upscale department store chain Nordstrom said it will acquire fashion flash-sale site HauteLook in an all-stock deal, marking the first such acquisition by a mainstream retailer. Flash-sale sites such as HauteLook and Rue La La rose to popularity during the downturn, as fashionistas sought more affordable ways to find the styles they craved and design houses were anxious to find a place to sell excess merchandise. The Wall Street Journal (2/18)       - Luxottica to acquire 2 Mexican sunglass chains for $23 million
Italian luxury sunglass retailer Luxottica will pay $23 million to acquire 70 sunglass stores in Mexico that operate under the Stanza and High Tech brands, as part of an effort to gain market share in the fast-growing market. The company plans to re-brand the stores with the Sunglass Hut name. Fox Business (2/17) - Hhgregg to open up to 20 Chicago stores this year
Consumer-electronics chain hhgregg has plans to open up to 20 stores in the Chicago market this fall and may move into Miami and Pittsburgh. The chain says it will lease prime retail real estate left vacant when Circuit City, Linens 'n Things and Wickes Furniture closed. It also is looking to open a Chicago-area distribution center to service the new stores. TWICE (2/17) - Big Lots reaches settlement in trade-secret lawsuit
Big Lots has settled a lawsuit it filed against a Florida research firm the retailer accused of stealing trade secrets by pumping managers for sales data and other confidential information. The retailer agreed to drop its lawsuit against Retail Intelligence Group in exchange for the firm agreeing not to contact Big Lots employees and not to use previously collected information, as well as providing Big Lots with certain information about its research methods. The Wall Street Journal (2/18) - How 7-Eleven empowers franchisees to boost sales
7-Eleven is decentralizing its strategic thinking, CEO Joe DePinto said in his keynote speech at the IFA 2011 Annual Convention. The company is helping franchisees tailor their offerings to local demand, keeping franchise-holders and their customers happy. "Our franchisees are the backbone of who we are. ... We need to meet stores' needs because they are the ones serving the customers," DePinto said. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Workforce (2/16)  | How can you control your largest source of shrink... if it can't even be seen? Learn how top retailers such as Vitamin Shoppe find, track, and stop employee theft. Our free White Paper explains key loss prevention facts and trends that you need to know, and how exception reporting - properly executed - can dramatically increase your profits and deliver big ROI! Get your copy now! |
 - Higher fabric prices force designers to innovate
Cotton isn't the only commodity that's carrying higher prices -- costs for silk, wool, leather and other natural fabrics also are forcing designers such as Nanette Lepore to make adjustments earlier in the process. Simpler designs and substituting blends for cashmere are among the changes. One concern: This season's longer hemlines often mean using twice as much material to create one piece. The Wall Street Journal (2/17) - Why a boutique's owners made it a traveling one
All through college, Aubree Phillips worked toward her dream of opening a clothing boutique. But rather than sink $100,000 into a physical store in a weak economy, Phillips partnered with a friend to launch Fringe and Lace, a "traveling boutique" that sells clothing and accessories through home parties. Customers enjoy the "fun and relaxing alternative way to shop," Phillips says, and the company benefits from lower overhead. The Entrepreneurial Mind (2/14)  | The retail landscape has been redefined by significant changes in the global economy, consumer preferences and advances in technology. One of the imperatives for staying competitive is to redesign the customer experience with innovative strategies. Download this free whitepaper that highlights four strategies to becoming a more meaningful part of consumers' lives. |
 - Kraft's in-store kiosk would see faces and shopping lists
Kraft Foods is developing an in-store kiosk that would make product recommendations based on a customer's gender, the time of day and items the customer already planned to buy. It would use facial recognition to determine gender and a mobile application to access shopping lists, but it would not consider factors including height or ethnicity. StorefrontBacktalk (2/17)  | 2011 planning for social media made simpler
94.1% of businesses use social media to build brand awareness — does yours? Get insights into business trends and best practices for social media from SmartBrief's State of Social Media for Business. Make your 2011 social-media strategy count with data from 6000+ business execs. Download the key takeaways now. |
| NRF News |  | | | - Report shows retailers are refocusing for 2011
After two to three years of belt tightening, expansion is back on the agenda and retailers are ready to begin experimenting again with new brick-and-mortar concepts, hoping to appeal to shoppers interested in buying for "wants" instead of "needs". Gain the latest insights on how retailers have adapted to this new consumer -- and what they're planning in 2011 -- from the just-released Retail Horizons report, the most authoritative source for retail benchmarks and trends. Order the full report by Feb. 28 and save up to $135. Learn more. - NRF SmartStat: Feb. 18, 2011
 More than half of consumers believed discount shopping for apparel was something they could not live without in 2010, compared with only 43% in 2009. Source: STORES Media survey conducted by BIGresearch - How to dominate your marketplace
As the former director of communications for Harley-Davidson, Ken Schmidt played an active role in one of the most celebrated brand turnarounds in corporate history. Schmidt will be the closing speaker at NRF's inaugural Global Supply Chain Summit and will share how to rebuild a brand and create market differentiation through nontraditional techniques. The Global Supply Chain Summit will be held in Columbus, Ohio, April 10-12. Learn more.
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - Cheesecake Factory, Texas Roadhouse lead shift to smaller spaces
U.S. restaurant companies are testing smaller footprints as a way to expand post-recession profit margins. Cheesecake Factory is creating an 8,000-square-foot prototype, and Texas Roadhouse is looking to shave about 10% from its footprint. Chains and analysts say the shift, which often cuts space from kitchens and waiting rooms rather than dining areas, will bring in similar revenue while shaving overhead costs. Smaller prototypes also open up options in the real estate search. Nasdaq.com/Dow Jones Newswires (2/17)  | |  | | The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
Faced with large amounts of data and customer information from across several brands, Chico's was recently in need of a better way to manage and analyze its data. SAS was able to provide a solution that meets these business challenges and helped Chico's create a targeted marketing campaign that tripled the results of previous campaigns. Learn more.
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