Retail Industry News


Recent Retail Industry News Articles

Get Ready for Holiday Shopping Season 

Forecasts predict modest growth this Christmas. Retail strategist Alison Levy recommends how independent retailers can stand out.  Watch video

How Small Retailers Stand Out for Holiday Shopping

Their work cut out for them, small businesses turn to customer service and experiences to differentiate this holiday shopping season.  Read more

How Cinnamon Smells Will Save Holiday Sales

Retailers have to up their game to capitalize off of holiday sales. Here's how to leverage the five senses to encourage customers to buy.  Read more

Why it Pays to Help Holiday Shoppers Relax

Retailers use festive music and decorations to put customers in the giving spirit. Perhaps they should also consider back massages and pedicures.  Read more

Market Research is the New Black

Start-up Stylitics allows marketers to have a voyeur's view into the daily clothing choices of consumers.  Read more

Inc. 5000 Update: Costume Craze

Kate Maloney of Costume Craze finds success selling Halloween costumes.  Read more

Obituary: Norbert Olberz, 1925-2011

With a firm hand (a very firm hand) and an eye for detail, he built a regional sporting-goods giant.  Read more

How Much Would You Gamble to Put Your Brand on Prime Time?

A fashion entrepreneur takes a major leap of faith, and it pays off at the Emmys.  Read more

Entrepreneurs Vie for a Piece of Fashion's Night Out

Want to get in on the action at fashion week? Here's a look at how some small businesses are using the event to market their brands.  Read more

Made in Louisiana

Two New York fashionistas launch their fashion house Jolie & Elizabeth in New Orleans and lead the charge of bringing fashion back to the Garden District.  Read more

Is This the Future of Retail?

SHOPBOX, the newest addition to DeKalb Market, a temporary mall in Brooklyn comprised of shipping containers, has its products on display, with no clerks to ...  Read more

The Fastest-Growing Private Company of 2011

Paul Hurley of ideeli, the midmarket fashion juggernaut, on how he rose to the top of this year's Inc. 500  Read more

America’s Fastest-Growing Retail Company

Ideeli sells apparel, accessories, shoes, and home and travel items through a members-only shopping site.  Read more

Reshaping the World of Retail

People are shopping with a mission, and brands are announcing themselves from behind store walls. The Proximity Era has begun.  Read more

The Cost of Starting Up a Retail Shop

Starting a retail business isn't cheap. Here, Sharon Munroe shares how much it cost her to open a consignment store in Austin.  Read more

Apple? No Competition

After two decades of working with the tech giant, Darryl Peck opened a small Apple retail store called PeachMac. Here's how he grew his business by imitating...  Read more

How to Handle Crazy Demand

Robert Croak, creator of Silly Bandz, remembers life at the center of a craze.  Read more

Avril Lavigne's New Business

The rock celebrity launches a new retailing business, called AbbeyDawn.com.  Read more

How to Break Into the Big-Box Big Leagues

Do you ever wonder how all those products end up on the shelves of your favorite retailer? Here are some case studies of small businesses who cracked the code.  Read more

Giving Himself Room to Roam

After a long spell of intense focus on one company, Paul Budnitz, founder of Kidrobot, is finding there’s nothing quite as liberating as being all over the...  Read more

How to Build an Empire

David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim stuck to a positive message, and made Uglydolls into a household name.  Read more

Never Giving Up on Her Soapsuds

When she wasn't satisfied with her career choice, Anne-Marie Faiola decided to make a business out of what she knew how to do best: Make soap.  Read more

Making Life Easier for His Customers

Chris Zane isn't in the business of selling bikes but creating experiences that will make his customers feel good about the product they walk away with.  Read more

Adding Some Pep to Our Step

When he couldn't find a pair of quality men's shoes, George Vlagos decided to make his own. There is currently a six-week wait list for a pair.  Read more

Bringing Fixed-gear Bikes to the Masses

Craving cooler wheels, two friends from the University of Southern California found an inexpensive manufacturer, and have been hawking sturdy minimalist bicy...  Read more

Old Hollywood Beauty With Natural Formulas

A makeup artist since age nine, Jessica Truesdale was inspired by beauty-industry legends like Estée Lauder and Elizabeth Arden, and founded True You Cosmet...  Read more

Learning From the Customer

Bill Crutchfield has been perfecting customer service for 30 years, and he credits his customers with teaching him everything.  Read more

7 Tips on Boosting Post-Holiday Retail Sales

Small business owners give advice on how to keep sales up after the holiday buying wave has passed.  Read more

Mobile Payment Firm Square Drops Transaction Fee

The company says dropping the credit card fee is part of its vision to "create zero friction and complexity" around payments. Will its competitors follow?  Read more

Turning Fierceness Into a Brand

Designer Christian Siriano of Project Runway fame takes time out from Fashion Week to talk about growing sales and falling models.  Read more

What's Wrong With How We Innovate?

Can we learn from China's R&D? Plus, Europe's start-up ecosystem is maturing, U.S. "buy local" efforts are working, and more of the day's news.  Read more

How to Bring an Alcoholic Beverage to Market

Hey, home-brew whiz. So you have what it takes to get your intoxicating beverage behind bars and on liquor-store shelves?  Read more

Manufacturers and Retailers Rebounded in December

Two industries battered during the recent recession are showing signs of renewed vitality—and fueling an economic recovery, the Fed reports.  Read more

Clothing Start-ups Seek Solutions as Cotton Prices Climb

Soaring cotton prices continue to present retailers with tough decisions: cut margins and risk profitability, or raise prices and risk sales?  Read more

Cleaning Up—and Greening—the Jewelry Industry

In the wake of the blood diamond controversy, there's a growing niche for sustainable and ethically created fine jewelry. Small businesses are stepping in to...  Read more