Retail Industry News


Recent Retail Industry News Articles

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

How to Start a Jewelry Making Business

Be it quartz or slightly quirky, jewelry is a hot market. Here is how to find your niche and get started selling gems.  Read more

Getting Green Products on More Retail Shelves

Big retailers tend to be afraid of start-ups that make eco-friendly products.Here's a proposal on how to change that mindset.  Read more

Smartphones Make for Smart Shoppers

Retailers hate these apps. Plus, the anatomy of a holiday toy craze and the rest of the day's news for entrepreneurs.  Read more

How to Bring an Eco-friendly Product to Market

With more sophisticated consumers and a stricter FTC, creating a green product is no longer a magic bullet to sales. But done right, it can still help you st...  Read more

The Founders of Vineyard Vines on Building a Brand 

Vineyard Vines co-founders Ian and Shep Murray answer questions about building a successful apparel company.  Watch video

Banking on the Bacon

Bacon has proven to be a viable hedge against the recession -- its frenzied popularity has migrated from the Internet into the products of innovative entrepr...  Read more

How to Double Your Gift Card Sales

Consumers spent more than $23 billion on gift cards last year. We've pinpointed the best strategies for small businesses to help gift card sales soar.  Read more

This Holiday Season, Every Day is Cyber Monday

Hoping to spread the Black Friday cheer, online retailers are piling on the discounts all month long.  Read more

Making Customers Work Harder

Momofuku Ko in New York City and Gjelina in Los Angeles draws crowds by playing hard to get.  Read more

American Apparel Again Warns It Could Go Bankrupt

The beleaguered apparel brand reported its second straight quarterly loss and said it might not survive the next 12 months.  Read more

6 Tips on Preparing for Strong Holiday Sales on Etsy

The impending holiday rush can be both a blessing and a curse for Etsy store owners. Inc. asked some seasoned, high-volume sellers to share their prep...  Read more

The Best and Worst Performing Retailers of the Year

Eat, drink, and shop online? Consumers are doing the majority of their shopping online and through catalog retailers but aren’t purchasing big ticket items...  Read more

How I Did It: Eileen Fisher

Fashion’s un-diva never forgets what her customers want: simple, timeless styles.  Read more

The Smartest Businessman on the Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail delivers 1,500 customers to Winton Porter's door each year. His business's "high tolerance for strange" keeps them coming back for more.  Read more

Elevator Pitch: ShopKeep

ShopKeep makes point-of-sale software for small businesses. Can it raise $1 million from investors?  Read more

How to Start a Business in Dallas

It's one of the biggest U.S. cities for business, and nearly 80 percent of Dallas companies are small businesses. Here's how to break in.  Read more

Jersey Shore and Lady Gaga Gear Drive Costume Shop Sales

Costume shops are selling out of Jersey Shore-inspired costumes and a BP oil spill outfit, while regretting that Lady Gaga didn't wear that meat dress a litt...  Read more

How to Bring a Food Product to Market

So you can cook, preserve, brew, pickle, or roast with the best of 'em. But is your product ready to compete with the other artisanal goods on the market she...  Read more

Andy Dunn, Co-founder of Bonobos 

Andy Dunn, co-founder of Bonobos, an online men's apparel retailer based in New York City, talks about building a successful business on the Web.  Watch video

How to Set Up a Mystery Shopping Program

Implementing the right tools to measure customer experience can help your business improve sales, operations, and profits.  Read more

How to Write a Business Plan for a Retail Business

A sound business plan can help any budding entrepreneur lay the groundwork for a successful store.  Read more

Rick Alden, Founder of Skullcandy 

Founder of the skater headphone brand Skullcandy, Rick Alden talks about what it takes to build a $125 million business.  Watch video

Engineering a Better Cup of Coffee

An industrial engineer takes on Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts by launching a pair of small, independent coffee shops.  Read more