A new type of department store coming to your Neighborhood A company known as Neighborhood Goods is finding success by creating spaces for brands, old and new, to sell in. In many ways, Neighborhood Goods is following the basic department store model: opening larger- format locations where brands can carve out dedicated shelf space to sell merchandise, acting as a wholesale partner. But the Texas-based business bills itself as “a new type of department store” and is expanding as many in the industry struggled to keep their doors open. Currently Neighborhood Goods only has one location in Plano, Texas, which opened late last year. It will open a second location in New York before this year is over and has announced a third location coming to Austin, Texas, in 2020. Neighborhood Goods aims to create large spaces where dozens of brands — many of them up-and-coming or born on the internet — can sell merchandise on a rotating basis. Some names in the Plano space, which is about 10,000 square feet, include razor company Dollar Shave Club, Sonos, Skagen, Buck Mason and Rothy’s. There’s also a restaurant there, called Prim and Proper, serving burgers and weekend brunch. And Neighborhood Goods holds other weekly events like workout classes, gardening workshops and taste testings. Keep your eyes open as something new could be coming to your neighborhood.
JC Penney looking to the outdoors to boost sales I n a bid to boost sales, J.C. Penney plans to launch an outdoor shop, selling apparel and other excursion gear, in 100 of its roughly 830 department stores. The company also launched an in-house brand in September called St. John’s Bay Outdoor, which will be in 600 Penney’s stores and online. It will include woven shirts, jackets, vests, waterproof pants and other gear for men transitioning from exploring the outdoors to “a night out in style,” according to the company, as the department store chain is leaning into this category as Americans are spending more time outdoors and they are looking to boost sales by exposing new product offers to get a piece of the nearly $900 billion outdoor recreation industry by offering functional and durable apparel to their customers. J.C. Penney’s newoutdoor shops, which are set to open in 100 stores in early October will have merchandise from three new national brands: denim-maker AmericanThreads, and performance-wear companiesThe American Outdoorsman and Hi-Tec. They will also include some of the other brands that Penney sells, including Puma, Nike and Adidas. •
Amazon is hiring A mazon wants to add 30,000 people to its workforce. They recently held an Amazon Career Day with major hiring events in six cities, Arlington, Virginia (the company’s newly-minted second U.S. headquarters); Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Nashville and Seattle to recruit. The e-commerce giant is hiring for permanent jobs that range in experience from entry-level roles at fulfillment centers to software developers to computer vision scientists. Both part-time and full-time jobs are up for grabs and will work out of the company’s headquarters, tech hubs, data centers and fulfillment centers.
Walmart expands its ‘unlimited’ grocery delivery service nationwide W almart announced that it will be expanding a new “unlimited” grocery delivery service which costs users $98 annually, to 1,400 stores this fall. The biggest retailer in the world had earlier this year been testing what it calls Delivery Unlimited in four markets —Houston, Miami, Salt Lake City and Tampa. As part of the nationwide rollout, it said the service will be available in 200 metro areas where it already has regular grocery delivery, reaching more than 50% of the U.S. population, by the end of the year. Walmart’s Delivery Unlimited offers users the option to pay either $98 per year or $12.95 per month to receive unlimited grocery delivery orders to their homes. Typically, on an order-by-order basis, delivery would cost an additional $9.99. In addition to fresh produce, meat and bakery items, some general merchandise is offered under the new unlimited service.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2019
51 OCTOBER 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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