retail

Another top retail exec gets the heave-ho -- this time at Best Buy -- and the company says all the right things in a dutiful statement pledging "new leadership" to spur growth and profitability.

Good as far as it went and I'm sure the search committee will try its hardest to land a solid replacement. But even if they combined the DNA from the best retail execs of this -- or any generation -- to conjure up a dream CEO, Best Buy would still need a miracle to avoid the fate suffered by the likes of Good Guys, … Read more

U.S. apparel retailer J.Crew this morning expanded its international distribution from 29 to 107 countries, spanning an astounding 41 currencies.

That's quite a jump in a single day for the retailer, known for clothing everyone from Michelle Obama to, well, me. Businesses -- even digital ones -- just don't scale that quickly.

But there's a secret to how J.Crew did it: a partnership, and a whole lotta tech.

With a platform provided by New York-based FiftyOne, J.Crew is bringing its modern prep style to Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East and South America. That … Read more

U.K. video-game retailer Game is in deep trouble, and so far the company hasn't found a way to fix its issues.

The retailer's parent company, The Game Group, announced today that it's currently "in discussions with its suppliers and lenders" to determine if there's a way out of its current financial mess, which has left the firm unable to sell some of today's top titles.

"The Board of GAME is working actively to resolve these issues as quickly as possible," the company wrote to shareholders today--without, that is, noting specifically … Read more

Best Buy has been criticized in the past for its short, 14-day return policy on major products like digital cameras, tablets, and computers. But the company might soon change that.

TUAW, an Apple enthusiast blog, reported last night that it received what is claimed to be a screen capture of a directive sent down by Best Buy headquarters to all of its stores. The alleged directive initiates a change in the retailer's return policy. Starting March 4, the screen capture reads, Best Buy will offer a 30-day return policy on all items.

Best Buy's current return policy is … Read more

One of the advantages the physical version of your Sunday newspaper has over the digital edition is the inclusion of all those weekly sales fliers. The ones I look forward to are from Best Buy, Staples, and other tech-heavy stores, with all the latest sales and new products. However, beyond the color photos and bold-face prices, the actual details about the products on display can be hard to decipher. … Read more

Are you still going to GameStop or Best Buy to pick up the latest video games? At least one developer thinks you better get your fill now because you won't have that opportunity in the coming years.

Speaking this week at the BAFTA Question Time event, the CEO of online-game developer Jagex said that a decade from now, we'll all remember when physical games were sold at retail, but we won't be buying them.

"I think, 10 years out from now, we'll be talking about [physical] retail nostalgically, as a museum piece," Mark Gerhard … Read more

Amazon has failed to sign up customers to its Prime service as fast as analysts had predicted, Bloomberg reported today.

Citing unnamed sources, the news service said that as of October, Amazon Prime had at most 5 million subscribers. Analysts predicted that Amazon would have 10 million Prime members at this point, according to the report.

Bloomberg didn't offer any reason for the shortfall. An Amazon spokesperson was not immediately available.

Prime costs $79 per year. Subscribers get free two-day shipping on their purchases as well as unlimited access to a limited pool of movies and TV shows that … Read more

Oh no, Apple. If you start to sell out of big-box stores again, you'll cheapen your brand. Don't let the iPad suffer the same fate as Calvin Klein jeans.

That was my first thought last month when I heard that Apple plans to create Apple boutiques within some Target stores and supply the merchant with even more gadgets and gear to sell. Then, last week, 9to5Mac reported that Apple was considering whether to do something similar in Sam's Club.

There's no mistaking what's going on. Apple continues to increase its presence in mass-market retailers after … Read more

Microsoft plans to open four new stores and launch brick-and-mortar retail operations in Canada later this year, according to a published report.

The Verge is reporting that Microsoft will open stores in Palo Alto, Calif., Austin, Texas and two locations near malls in New Jersey--in Bridgewater and Freehold.

All four stores will debut in April and be located in shopping malls that include Apple stores, the Verge reported. The blog wrote that Microsoft's store in Canada is supposed to be located near Toronto.

Microsoft execs have said they plan to open more than 70 stores over the next two … Read more