FROM THE DESK OF DEBORAH WEINSWIG

Retailers Are Increasingly Leading Consumers to the Great Outdoors As consumers vote with their dollars on their interest in outdoor activities, retailers are responding with upgraded stores and experiences. As consumers were sheltering at home last year from spring onward and were unable to enjoy travel, outside dining or entertainment, many gravitated to outdoor activities that they could enjoy in order to relax and exercise (plus indoor activities such as gaming too.) Bicycles, video-game consoles and weights became hard to purchase in 2020 as surges in demand, alongside global shipping bottlenecks, depleted supply chains. Dick’s Sporting Goods has responded to increased demand with its new Public Lands store concept, which was publicly announced at the end of August this year. Public Lands is an outdoor-focused specialty store designed to encourage consumers to spend more time outdoors and explore actual public spaces. The first store is located around 20 miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, occupying 50,000 square feet—in line with its prototype footprint but half the size of House of Sport that opened in Victor, New York in April 2021. The Pittsburgh store will open at the end of September, and a second store in Columbus, Ohio, is set to launch in October. The Public Lands store includes a 30-foot rock climbing wall, in-store gear rental, plus specialized departments for outdoor activities including biking, camping, climbing, fishing, hiking, paddling, running and skiing. The store will be staffed by associates who have a strong interest in sharing their enthusiasm about the outdoors. As suggested by its name, the stores also promote public lands. Dick’s Sporting Goods has launched The Public Lands Fund, a charity that aims to support national and local land protection initiatives, and the company is donating 1% of gross sales to fund it. With the announcement of the first store opening, Dick’s highlighted five national nonprofit organizations as beneficiaries, plus two organizations in Pittsburgh and three in Columbus regions that would be funded. Furthermore, outdoor gear vendor REI, which exists as a member-owned co-operative, offers a broad assortment of new and secondhand goods, training and experience to its customers. As a co-op, the organization claims that 70% of its annual profits are invested into the outdoor community through dividends to members, employee profit-sharing and retirement plans, plus investment in outdoor-focused nonprofit organizations. Whereas the concept of experiential retail was put on the back burner amid the pandemic, REI has forged ahead to build outdoor-oriented communities—offering local events, classes and even coordinating cycling, hiking and snowshoeing trips with its REI Adventures arm. REI members receive exclusive discounts on trips as well as exclusive access to used-equipment sales. The travel element of its business largely distinguishes REI from other retailers, although retailers such as Costco offer travel packages to members. In addition to creating its own version of resale commerce with its launch of secondhand equipment sales in 2018, access to used equipment enables REI to makes the outdoors more approachable to newcomers through lower price points. The company’s offerings span the entire gamut from testing out outdoor activities through rental equipment, perusing equipment virtually, buying equipment and finally booking a trip. The company expanded its resale business to include pop-up shops and trade-ins in October 2020. Moreover, its online business sales doubled year over year in 2020. The question is, now that consumers are able to travel more freely and visit restaurants and entertainment venues, will their newfound love of the great outdoors stick, especially with cool autumn weather approaching? Dick’s and REI certainly hope so, and the new stores and experiences emerging in the US retail space are intended to turn regular consumers into lovers of the great outdoors.

US RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

Amazon Plans To Hire 125,000 Employees and Raises Average Starting Pay to $18 an Hour (September 14) Company press release

• Amazon has announced that it will raise its average US starting wage to more than $18 an hour and plans to hire 125,000 additional warehouse and transportation workers. Select locations will also offer sign-on bonuses of up to $3,000, as the company seeks to attract workers in an increasingly tight labor market.
• The new roles will provide workers with a 401(k) plan, dental, health and vision insurance, and up to 20 weeks paid parental leave. On September 9, 2021, the retailer announced that it will pay full college tuition fees for its 750,000 US hourly employees, beginning in January 2022.

Dick’s Sporting Goods To Hire up to 10,000 Associates for Holiday Season (September 13) Company press release

• Dick’s Sporting Goods has announced that it will hire up to 10,000 seasonal associates for the 2021 holiday period, the most in its history. Hiring began on September 15 at the company’s annual recruiting drive, National Signing Day, which is now in its fourth year.
• The new seasonal associates will fill several roles, including fulfilling curbside contactless pickup and ship-from-store orders. The company will also look to hire up to 250 seasonal employees across its five US distribution centers.

FedEx Partners with Salesforce To Help Retailers Step Up E-Commerce Capabilities (September 14) Company press release

• FedEx and cloud-based software solutions provider Salesforce have announced a multiyear collaboration that aims to help retailers improve their supply chain operations to meet rising consumer demand for fast and free shipping.
• FedEx will integrate Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Salesforce Order Management software into its Shoprunner e-commerce platform. FedEx will also leverage Salesforce’s customer relationship management functionality, enabling retailers to provide consumers with more precise information about package delivery times.

Gap Inc. To Buy Back Costly Debt with $1.5 Billion Bond Issue (September 14) Finance.Yahoo.com

• Gap Inc. has announced plans to issue $1.5 billion in bonds to buy back the expensive debt that the company raised last year during the pandemic. The transaction will cut its borrowing costs in order to focus on growth as consumer spending on apparel rebounds.
• The company will use new senior notes totaling $750 million at 3.6% due in 2029, and another $750 million at 3.9% due in 2031, to fund a tender offer aiming to replace outstanding notes issued in April 2020. The tender offer’s early deadline is September 24 and the final deadline is October 8.

Kroger Launches 30-Minute Delivery Service in Partnership with Instacart (September 14) Company press release

• Grocery retailer Kroger and online delivery platform Instacart have launched Kroger Delivery Now, a new service offering delivery of fresh groceries and household staples in as little as 30 minutes.
• Kroger stated that around 25,000 items are available through the service and that orders are fulfilled through its nationwide network of approximately 2,750 stores. Customers can access the service via the Convenience Hub, a new product experience on the Instacart marketplace designed to streamline shopping.

EUROPE RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

Albert Heijn Completes Acquisition of Supermarket DEEN (September 13) Company press release

• Albert Heijn, the leading subsidiary of Netherlands-based retail chain Ahold Delhaize, has completed the acquisition of supermarket chain DEEN, alongside Dutch supermarket retailers DekaMarkt and Vomar Voordeelmarkt. Financial details of the transaction have not been released.
• The acquisition will see 39 stores located in Noord-Holland, Flevoland, Gelderland and Overijssel converted into Albert Heijn stores, with an additional 19 DekaMarkt stores and 22 new Vomar Voordeelmarkt stores.

Associated British Foods Issues Full-Year Trading Update (September 13) Company press release

• Primark’s like-for-like sales in the third quarter increased by 3% compared to the same quarter of 2019, as reported by the retailer’s parent company Associated British Foods. However, sales for the fourth quarter are set to be down 17%.
• Management also stated that Primark sales in the second half of 2021 could reach £3.4 billion ($4.7 billion). The company raised its full-year outlook, forecasting adjusted operating profit to be above last year’s £1 billion ($1.3 billion).

Marks & Spencer Reviewing French Operations amid Post-Brexit Retail Disruptions (September 13) FT.com

• British food and clothing chain Marks & Spencer has announced that is reviewing its operations in France given growing concerns about border control delays and retail disruptions following Brexit. The company also announced changes to food exports into the Czech Republic due to new customs arrangements with Europe.
• The company is reviewing its franchise operations for 20 of its stores in France with its two partners Lagardère and SFH Invest. Beginning October 1, trading restrictions on imports and exports will require businesses to provide additional documentation, which could lead to food import challenges, price increases and choice restrictions in the UK, according to the company.

Pandora Pledges To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emission in Half by 2030 (September 12) Company press release

• Denmark-based jewelry retailer Pandora has committed to halving its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2040. According to Pandora, the decarbonization plan is the most ambitious target set by any jeweler and is approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.
• The company stated that it will use low-carbon materials such as recycled gold and silver, as well as sustainable packaging. It will also implement renewable energy in its 1,300 stores and reduce emissions from in its distribution centers, transportation and raw materials, among other areas.

Waitrose To Remove 40 million Plastic Bags From Its Operations per Year (September 13) Company press release

• British retailer Waitrose will remove all plastic bags from its deliveries and in-store operations, effective September 27. An estimated 40 million plastic bags per year will be removed from the retailer’s stores and e-commerce deliveries.
• On September 27, the company plans to introduce recyclable and reusable alternatives across its stores, building on its previous sustainability initiatives, including the use of Prevented Ocean Plastic (POP) and the introduction of refillable products.

ASIA RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

Amazon India Opens Its Biggest Fulfillment Centre in Bengaluru (September 14) IndianExpress.com

• E-commerce giant Amazon has opened its largest fulfillment center in India ahead of holiday season sales. The center is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and has a capacity of over 2.4 million cubic feet.
• The company’s latest infrastructure expansion will provide more than 42,000 sellers in Karnataka with better access to a larger customer base across India.

Bangladesh’s Garment Association Seeks To Promote US Apparel Exports (September 14) TBSNews.net

• Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has sought cooperation with the Bangladesh Embassy in the US, aiming to promote bilateral trade between the two countries, including increased apparel exports to the US.
• The BGMEA President also requested that the embassy explore initiatives to attract investments from non-resident Bangladeshis in the textile industries, focusing on the non-cotton segment.

China’s Factory and Retail Sectors Stumble due to Covid-19 Disruptions (September 15) News.Trust.org

• Covid-19 outbreaks and supply chain disruptions caused China’s factory and retail sectors to stall in August, as restrictions led to closures of shopping malls and businesses.
• Retail sales took a massive hit, rising by just 2.5% year over year, significantly lower than the forecasted 7.0% growth, according to National Bureau of Statistics data. Factory output rose by 5.3% year over year—the lowest growth rate since July 2020, and below the 5.8% increase predicted by analysts.

Clensta International Launches Online Store (September 14) IndianRetailer.com

• Clensta International, an India-based biotechnology company that focuses on health and hygiene, has launched an online store. With the launch, the company aims to shift its focus to direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales channels and away from business-to-consumer (BTC) and business-to-business-to-consumer (BTBTC).
• The company has opened the online store to cope with losses resulting from the pandemic, aiming to drive engagement through the introduction of an omnichannel experience. Clensta International expects the move to bring in $2 million in revenue over the next year.

Shinsegae To Convert Its Gas Stations into Commercial Complexes (September 15) KoreaHerald.com

• South Korea-based department store franchise Shinsegae Group plans to convert its gas stations into commercial complexes combining retail and distribution.
• The company’s property arm, Shinsegae Property, has partnered with real estate investment trust Koramco Energy Plus REIT for the project. Shinsegae stated that it aims to create an “environmentally friendly space that works as a new regional logistics platform.”