 | May 4, 2011 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
| Industry Watch |  |  | | - Sears CEO sees future in home services, apparel business
Sears plans to turn around flagging revenues by focusing on the company's "portfolio of assets," including its home services offerings, real estate and strong brands such as Kenmore and Craftsman, CEO Louis D'Ambrosio told shareholders at the company's annual meeting this week. The company also plans to cut back on its own unprofitable apparel offerings to free up more space to lease to popular fashion retailers such as Forever 21, which opened a store-within-a-Sears last year. Chicago Tribune (5/3)      - Luxury brands seek more control with department store concessions
Global luxury companies including Prada, Gucci and Dior are looking to gain more control over how their products are sold in upscale U.S. department stores, replacing the old model of selling wholesale to the retailers with new shops-within-the-stores, also called "concessions." Luxury brands grew frustrated at American merchants for recession-era deep discounting that they say threatened their perceived value, and a rebounding market for upscale goods has given the brands more negotiating clout. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (5/4)  | Hire like the Fortune 500 with half off a LinkedIn job posting. Get great applicants—3 times higher quality than those from traditional job boards—from LinkedIn's 100-million-member-strong professional network. Pay $97 (50% off the usual $195) and watch your listing go viral. View this bizy deal. |
 | Retail trends | | | | - Toronto's former nightclubs morph into stores for U.S. chains
 U.S. retail chains including Crate and Barrel and Marshalls are turning to Toronto's former nightclub spaces as they clamor for new urban venues to reach Canadian consumers in a tight real estate market. The home furnishings chain will debut its condo-oriented CB2 store in the former Big Bop nightclub, and Marshalls is set to open a store in the former Circa space. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (5/3)  | The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN
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  - Study: Merchants plan significant m-commerce investments
Retailers from pure-play e-commerce companies to traditional brick-and-mortar chains plan to invest significantly to expand and improve their mobile-shopping applications and sites this year, according to a study from Forrester Research and Shop.org. Retail chains are forecast to spend the most, $343,068 on m-commerce sites, applications and text messaging programs, while online-only merchants expect to invest an average of $37,750. MobileCommerceDaily.com (5/3), InternetRetailer.com (5/3) - Williams-Sonoma to take growing e-commerce site global
Williams-Sonoma plans to capitalize on its fast-growing e-commerce effort by expanding online sales to 75 countries by the end of June, a pricey investment the 55-year-old chain expects to pay off in reduced brick-and-mortar costs. Competitors including Sur La Table and Pier 1 are making similar moves. Bloomberg (5/3)  | Akamai - The Right Partner with the Right Solution
Are you failing to to satisfy user expectations for an outstanding online shopping experience? Do you need to accelerate your dynamic content? Do you strive to be a retailer that pushes the envelope with site technology and offerings? Learn why the Akamai Dynamic Site Accelerator is the right solution for those issues and more. |
 | Policy & Government Affairs | |  | | |  | - Maine lawmakers move to reverse strict rules on big box stores
The Maine House voted Tuesday to weaken a 4-year-old law that made it virtually impossible for large retail chains to build stores in the state. Independent merchants argued fiercely for keeping teeth in the law, which requires developers of projects larger than 75,000-square-feet to pay $40,000 for impact studies that planners use to decide whether the project will have a negative impact on the community. Portland Press Herald (Maine) (5/3) 
| NRF News | | | | - What's hot in retail (and at NRF)
As retail sales gains continue to see monthly gains, industry executives are scouring NRF resources to position their companies for future growth. Noteworthy hot topics last month included coverage of the ever-changing swipe fee fight, blog posts from NRF's inaugural Supply Chain Summit and consumer survey results from Easter and Mother's Day. View a complete list of the most popular resources and articles in retail for the month of April. Read more. - Mobile: How to one-up your competitors
A highly functional mobile site and uninterrupted service are key to today's online success. Join executives from Branding Brand and AlertSite for a STORES Knowledge Series webinar on May 5 as they share key strategies for one-upping the competition, including how to develop a site that loads twice as fast. Learn more.
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - Cheesecake Factory founder: From wannabe rock star to restaurant success
The perennially popular Cheesecake Factory has its roots in David Overton's childhood basement, where his mom Evelyn launched a small business baking cheesecakes for local restaurants in the 1950s. In 1975, he gave up his dreams of rock stardom and moved to Los Angeles, and soon realized the best way to help his parents speed up the growth of their wholesale business was to open a restaurant, which they did in 1978 with $125,000 from clients and family. Fortune (subscription required) (5/3) | Editor's Note | | | | - SmartBrief has an Android app
SmartBrief is proud to announce the launch of our Google Android application, available for download at Android Market. The app extends our promise to keep you informed and save you valuable time every day. Download the app, and tell us what you think.  | |  | | | | |  |  Director of Real Estate | Teavana | Atlanta, GA | | Web Project Manager | The Wet Seal, INC | Foothill Ranch, CA | | General Manager, Retail E-Commerce & Catalog | Smithsonian Enterprises | Washington, DC | | Director of Talent Acquisition | rue21 | Warrendale, PA | | Merchandise Planner Analyst | Headquarters Marine Corps, MCCS | Quantico, VA | | Senior Corporate Internal Auditor | PetSmart, Inc. | Phoenix, AZ | | Director Talent Acquisition | PetSmart | Phoenix, AZ | | Manager IS Data Center & Wintel | PetSmart | Phoenix, AZ | | Buyer - Mens Sportswear | Bealls Department Stores | Bradenton, FL | | Flagship Store Manager | MacKenzie-Childs | New York, NY | | Director of Store Operations | Five Below, Inc. | Philadelphia, PA | | Retail Store Manager | Kitty Hawk Kites/Kitty Hawk Surf Company | Rodanthe, NC | | Online Business Manager | Spencer Gifts | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | DVP Real Estate | Spirit Halloween | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | Marketing Manager Coupon Team | Target | Minneapolis, MN | | Senior Manager, Site Planning | Target | 55402, MN | | Business Process Consultant Target.com | Target | Minneapolis, MN | | | |  | |  |
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