79 South China Import Inc. is a premier seller and wholesale distributor of all types of footwear. Based in New York, it has consistently offered outstanding customer service in over three decades of working with manufacturers and buyers. The company believes that dealing directly with customers enables it to understand the needs and desires of the consumers first hand. With an aim to become the main footwear supplier to any store, it takes pride in its vast selection of footwear for men, women, and children, which are all available at the lowest prices.

79 South China Import, Inc. has been a premier footwear wholesaler since 1979. It supplies to over 7,000 customers. According to sales manager Chi Sing (Jimmy) Cheung, aside from quality, pricing and experience set the company apart from its competitors. “Our products have been through the test of time on reliability and satisfaction. We try our best to set quality control and product value. With over 30 years in the market we know what customers expect from our products and goods,” he says.

When it comes to footwear, 79 South China Import, Inc. has one of the biggest inventories you’ll ever find. “Footwear is a normal good that everyone needs and we plan on making the best selection possible for everyone in the market,” Jimmy says. He adds that the company expands its line every year to meet the growing demand for its great products, the hottest-selling of which include sandals, slippers, flip-flops, aqua shoes, and boots.

 79 South China Import, Inc. offers the best choices in wholesale footwear for women. The colors and designs in the following rain boots and sandals are sure to brighten up any outfit.

Customers get the best value for their money with 79 South China Import, Inc. These men’s slippers sure look comfy, but more than that, they are made of high-quality, durable materials.

These adorable choices in wholesale kids’ footwear are great for school and playtime.

79 South China Import, Inc. values optimum customer satisfaction. Its cheap wholesale prices and best value services are the company’s main strengths. “We have very light overhead and very lean margins.  Our company always believes in passing on value to our customers.  With any money saved from shopping over hundreds of factories we always pass the savings to our customers,” Jimmy says. The company can accommodate any order and delivers the next day for in-stock items.

The company keeps up with the latest trends in design and manufacturing. It participates in no less than 28 shows and trade fairs every year, including the upcoming OffPrice Show, to be held from August 19-22 in Las Vegas. The company will offer a 5% discount to buyers who will come to see them this year. 79 South China Import, Inc. has been a regular participant at the OffPrice Show, where it has come to know many of its customers.  See them at Booth No. 1047 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center on the said dates. “We welcome all customers with the same respect and value from our products,” Jimmy says.

79 South China Import, Inc.
Address: 148 Green Street, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11222

Phone: (718) 389-6731|
Fax: 718-389-9707
Email: SoChinaNY@aol.com
Website: http://southchinaimport.com

Contact person: Michael Ho

Business hours:
Mon-Fri 8:30AM – 5:45PM
Saturday 8:00AM – 12:30PM

METRO Cash & Carry, a chain of self-service wholesale stores based in Germany, plans to expand in India with 50 more stores by the end of 2020, the German company said Monday.

India, where retail is closed to foreign direct investment while allowing 100 percent FDI on wholesale trading, currently has 16 METRO distribution centers across 12 cities. If the expansion plan pushes through, India will join Russia, China and Turkey in METRO’s focus areas.

“India has always been an important future growth market of METRO,” said Metro Cash & Carry chief executive Olaf Koch. “We have seen continuous like-for-like growth recently in India.”

“Now we decide to inject extra momentum into our expansion course there to operate 50 distribution centers by 2020. India will join Russia, China and Turkey as one of the four focus expansion countries within our portfolio,” Koch added.

The METRO announcement comes on the heels of news reports that Wal-Mart is planning to expand in India, where the world’s largest retailer is set to open 50 outlets over the next five years.

With the brewing competition, METRO boasts of its 10-year-old relationship with small independent shops locally known as Kirana, which constitutes a vast majority of India’s retail sector. The company has recently launched a variety of customized support schemes on the sales floor and in the field to strengthen Kirana’s competitiveness in the retail market.

Rajeev Bakshi, METRO managing director in India, said the company has been “consolidating market position by translating our nuanced understanding of the customer into daily practices, tailored projects and innovations.”

He added “we are delighted that METRO has established itself as a responsible and relevant member of the community. This provides a firm foundation for us to switch our expansion into the fast lane now.”

ABOUT THE METRO GROUP – Founded in Germany in 1964, METRO Cash and Carry offers a chain of self-service wholesale stores across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The company maintains a presence in 29 countries, with over 700 stores to date. All of METRO wholesale stores boast of a concept oriented towards helping its retailer customers to successfully run their own businesses, and aim to promote local purchasing power and consumer demand.

For other latest news from TopTenWholesale, follow us on Twitter and connect with us on Facebook.

Anhui Light Industries Int’l. Co., Ltd. (ALIC) is a large-scale business enterprise offering a product range so diverse and far-reaching that there is little chance that you or your household hasn’t in some way gotten acquainted with any of them. The name may be unfamiliar to the west, but ALIC has for years been silently working with many of the world’s famous brands including Nestle, Coca-Cola, Fila, Quiksilver, Macy’s, and Vodafone, among others.

For more than 25 years, Anhui Light Industries has provided high-quality products and wholehearted service in line with the company motto, “with customers, by customers, for customers.” Located in the beautiful green city of Hefei, Anhui Light Industries Int’l. Co. Ltd. boasts of a large-scale trading system, a solid trading base, and an open-minded and flexible character. It has proved itself a leader among domestic exporters, thanks to a stable marketing network and an outstanding commercial reputation.

According to sales manager Stewart Zhou, “We concentrate on supplying the best service together with the high quality and inexpensive products for  customers abroad, as well as offering the best solution to sourcing and pricing, walkthrough and feedback.”

Products by Anhui Light Industries Int’l. Co., Ltd. caters to all types of consumers – from individuals to wholesale buyers. The company deals mainly with the trading of light industrial products, medicine and health products, chemicals, and foodstuff. One of its busiest departments is in the export of garments and apparel, with its own line of footwear, headwear, garments, and home textiles, some of which are showcased in the photos below.

ALIC also trades on machinery and electronic products, boats and ships, green energy products, vehicles and construction machinery, vehicle accessories and parts, electronic gadgets, household items and furniture, office appliances, paper products, outdoor gear, sanitary ware, bags and suitcases, gifts toys, glassware, and so much more. Anhui Light Industries Int’l. Co., Ltd. exports to over 160 countries and regions worldwide. Annual sales is at $250 million.

Anhui Light Industries Int’l. Co., Ltd. controls several popular brands including Lily, Carefree, Holiday, Flying Crane, and Happiness – brands that have been enthusiastically supported and recognized by the China Ministry of Commerce itself.  ALIC has repeatedly received recognition for its excellent products and wholesale management, including the recent “Brand Marketing Innovation” award during the 22^nd East China Import & Export Commodity Fair.

ALIC is especially keen on further broadening its wholesale distribution market, sending sales representatives to trade fairs and exhibitions abroad year after year. Check out the company and their products at the SOURCING at MAGIC trade show, to be held in Las Vegas from August 20 to 23, 2012. Register for this event now!

Anhui Light Industries Int’l Co., Ltd.
Contact person: Mr. Stewart Zhou
Address: 19 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, China

Tel no:  0086 551 2299407 / 2823031
Fax: 0086 551 2299291
Email: pengxiang_zhou@alic.com
Website: http://alic.com

To apparel wholesalers and retailers, a recent Fortune magazine headline on the rapid spread of off-price product sourcing was not cheerful:

Discounters Lose Their Edge
Department Stores Venture Into Off-Price Territory

More Sales

More Discounts

Macy

That warning headline by Suzanne Kapner used her surprise as a clothing bargain hunter at finding the exact same women’s jacket, at the exact same low price, in two very different clothing stores: (1) “upscale” Bloomingdale’s Department Store, and (2) deeply discounted, “off-price retailers” like Loehmann’s and T.J. Maxx.

Should smart buyers and sellers of off-price inventory be worried about this trend, which Fortune’s Kapner says is “bad news for discounters, who lure customers on their pricing edge alone?” (That’s our emphasis added.)

And, will more “upscale” department stores, now venturing into off-price product-sourcing territory, “only become a bigger headache for discounters,” as the Fortune article warned?

Discounters Don’t Have To Lose Their Off-Price Edge

· Off-price Buyers Are Still Ahead. Fortune’s Kapner pointed to December sales, which said most department stores had double-digit drops, while discount merchandisers didn’t lose as much business or had sales only “flatten.” Does that sound like all-bad discounter news?

Explained Kapner: Retail analysts said off-pricers would have done better than “flat” sales if they were not competing with “upscale” department stores who entered off-price territory. So, even if we notice more competition from department store buyers in the value-priced, off-price merchandise market, “flat” sales are still ahead of “double-digit drops.”

· Not All Discounters Are The Same. According to retail sales data for Holiday 2008 generated by the MasterCard payments network: Total retail sales were down between 5 and 8%. The steepest drops were recorded in Apparel – up to 21% for the general category and a 23% drop in women’s apparel sales — compared to same-period sales in 2007.

But that gloomy statistic is an average; and averages dump every seller into the same bin.

For example: Average Declines buried the fact that the steepest drops in Apparel sales occurred at higher priced department stores, like Bergdorfs and Saks. Discount chains that did not drop by double digits, but held steady or registered increases, include TJX Companies (parent of the T.J. Maxx discount chain) and Ross Stores. Nor did double-digit doldrums hit all retailers. Look at teen-focused apparel retailer Aeropostale (sales rose 12%), and niche-targeted independents like Hot Topic, who stocked tie-in clothing and accessories for the teen entertainment blockbuster Twilight and saw holiday sales increase by 4.3%.

Successful clothing buyers and sellers offer discount pricing AND trendy inventory AND value to their target customers. Averages don’t tell the whole story.

· Discount Pricing, Customer Service, Value All Work Together. What’s wrong with this picture?

“Offering similar-priced goods in a nicer environment than the hand-to-hand combat associated with discounters gives them a leg up … “ (from Are Discounters Losing Their Edge?)

Did you find it?

Successful off-price buyers and sellers, during economic good times and down times, build personalized services and relationships with their customers. Personal mailings. Advance notice of Special Sales. Holding specialty items or hard-to-keep-in-stock styles (like plus-sized romantic clothing styles) for targeted customers.

Those are not the trademarks of “hand-to-hand combat” shopping experiences!! They’re called CRM – Customer Relationship Management.

· Off-Price Product Sourcing Levels the Field. Wholesalers and retailers, buyers and sellers of any size or product category – apparel to toys, fashion accessories to personal electronics, Dollar Store inventory to specialty clothing – can compete with the right product sourcing strategy. Key to successful sourcing is buying in the right marketplaces in order to sell at the right price points.

1. Search for suppliers by your targeted key word needs at trusted wholesale and manufacturing auction, listing and directory networks. Examples include Top Ten Wholesale , Manufacturer.com (Buyer/Seller exchanges; Source direct from manufacturers), and Wholezilla.

2. Access hundreds of sellers who specialize in the off-price marketplace and offer trendy product categories at 50-to-70 percent below wholesale, at established value price trade shows. Examples include Off-Price Specialists Show and Value Price Expos , depending on your inventory needs.

3. Keep up with industry, retailing and online marketing trends … without trying to scan everything out there. Sign up for Google or Yahoo! Product Alerts. Subscribe to weekly digest eNewsletters or, more time-efficiently, register for automatic alerts, such as RSS feeds at specialized industry sites. Examples: Off-Price Network, Internet Retailer, TopTenWholesale Newsroom and Top Ten Wholesale Blog and WholesaleU Blog.

After years of low sales, Aeropostale Inc. has filed for bankruptcy, now that customers have moved on to other fast-fashion competitors and online stores. As it goes through bankruptcy, it plans to stay open with operating cash flow and a loan from Crystal Financial LLC of 160 million dollars.

The company stays optimistic that it will reemerge from bankruptcy once disputes are settled with Sycamore Partners, Aeropostale’s former shareholder. Sycamore Partners gave the company 150 million dollars in 2014. Thanks to this dispute, Aeropostale was considering selling along with other strategies.

While they hope to settle their debts and financial troubles, it won’t do much for their market share. After bankruptcy they will have fewer stores and a smaller company overall, making them more profitable, but they still need customers.

Aeropostale is planning on closing all stores in Canada and more than 100 stores in the United States. They must use bankruptcy to take the time to rethink their strategy.

They are not the only company trying to sell to the teen market that’s in trouble. Quiksilver Inc., Sports Authority and American Apparel all filed for bankruptcy in the past year. Other similar companies such as American Eagle Outfitters and Abercrombie and Fitch have held on to their market shares by keeping up with fashion trends and controlling their inventories better.

Fast-fashion retailers like Zara, Forever 21 and H&M have cut into the teen market. Across the United States and Puerto Rico, Aeropostale had 739 stores, with a small chain of 25 P.S. from Aeropostale stores as well. Their assets were also in the range of 100 to 500 million dollars, with liabilities from 100 to 500 million as well.

(header img via inquisitr.com)

Ross Stores are old school retail. They have a limited market without an international reach, no online shopping, and their running costs are going to rise once the minimum wage is raised in California, where 25% of their stores are based.

jolynneshane.com

Yet while these are all reasons why their stocks should drop, when you take their market niche into consideration, they are all reasons why they should do well.

Their competition is getting tougher.

Department stores such as Macy’s, seeing declining sales, have started to break into the discounted apparel business. Stores in the same areas are directly competing for customers.

Studies have also shown that customers are saving more instead of spending, leading to a decline in sales. Even though spending did increase, the rate of saving increased more.

The minimum wage in California has been increased to $10 per hour, so one-fourth of Ross stores will see an increase in operating costs compared to other stores in Florida, Texas and other states.

Even though Ross Stores markets to younger people, they do not have an online store. This means that they definitely lose some customers to stores that do have an online presence. Customers increasingly want the convenience of finding deals online and not having to go into stores.

While similar stores such as TJ Maxx have opened stores internationally, Ross Stores has continued to only expand in the United States. This means they are missing out on extra revenue.

These are all reasons why their stocks should be falling, but there are many things working in their favor.

While it is true that Ross might not have the market share of other stores such as department stores, they do have other advantages.

The bigger stores have a higher margin, so when sales are down, they have more to lose. Ross operates on a smaller margin and more efficiently, so they are not hurt as badly by lower sales.

For the minimum wage increase, their operating costs will increase, but their target customer base also has more money to spend. It has been shown that increased income leads to more purchasing.

By not having an online store, Ross can keep their costs low.

Online stores benefit larger retailers because of the costs like shipping and keeping inventory on hand. Unlike large scale operations like Amazon, Ross discounts their products so heavily that it wouldn’t benefit them to sell online.

Though some people worry that going online too late will hurt the business, for the short-term, they will do better with purely physical stores.

As for the international market, it doesn’t make sense for Ross to expand overseas when they still have regions of the United States to break into.

For now, what they are doing now is working for them and their target market. Making big changes would probably hurt business more than help it. Old school can still work for some companies.

Header image via thetimesweekly.com

Back in January, Macy’s announced that it would be closing 40 of its stores nationwide, which caused CEO Terry Lundgren to lose his job. Alternatively, Ross Stores has now announced that they will be opening 31 new stores, adding to the 90 stores they have already opened this year.

This proves to be a very interesting contrast between the two companies.

Currently, Macy’s has 730 stores after the closure of the 40 by the spring of this year. The company had stated that it wanted to operated excellent stores in their best locations to serve both local customers that walk in the doors and those who order from across the country. Macy’s acknowledged the changing retail landscape as one of the reasons for this change. Macy’s also stated that the stores were closed because they were not product or not in locations that were considered to be robust shopping areas.

In the opening of new stores at the same time Macy’s was closing, Ross Stores stated that they would open 24 Ross Dress for Less stores and seven dd’s DISCOUNTs across the country in 15 different states in the summer of this year. The company, at the time, had 10 stores in the new Midwest market as well, including four stores within Wisconsin. The company hopes to grow to 2,000 Ross Dress for Less stores, and 500 dd’s DISCOUNTS locations in the next few years.

Both companies show different sides of the economic coin, with one closing stores because of an out-dated business model, and another thriving as people look for new ways to save money, with added conveyance.

header img via huffingtonpost.com

In September 2015, there were more than 30 fake Apple stores in one of China’s electronics districts (Chinese town of Shenzhen). Today, there are a third less.

img via uk.businessinsider.com

Now some of the storefronts host unauthorized stores that carry local smartphones, like Oppo, Xiaomi, Huawei and Meizu. Sales of the iPhone have supposedly dropped to half since October.

Fake Apple Stores First Exposed

27 year old American blogger, Jessica Angelson, first brought the fake Apple stores in China to light on her blog “BirdAbroad” while she was working in Kunming for a public health organization. When visiting one of the stores, Angelson said of the employees that even they were under the impression that the stores were real!

It was also revealed that “Some employees in fake stores in Shenzhen told Reuters that they were buying the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus from the US and Hong Kong as well as China, and smuggling them across the border into the mainland.” – Business Insider UK

Apple Itself Causing Fake Store Closures

While the drop in sales may indicate that the stores closed due to lack of interest in Apple products, it is also important to consider that Apple has possibly taken action against a number of illegitimate sellers. Another fact that may contribute to the drop in sales at these fake stores is that Apple has been expanding their real stores across China.

They now have 33 retail stores in China, with the intention of having at least 40 this year. When it comes to numbers, Apple still has some catching up to do. In the United States, Apple has 53 retail locations in just California. The fake Apple stores’ numbers also coincide with the product releases. The stores are more popular around big releases, such as the iPhone 6s being released in September of 2015, as demand for Apple products grows.

Counterfeit stores have been a problem for years. Officials in China ordered for the shut down of several fake stores, but never shut down the industry completely.

header img via uk.businessinsider.com

Department stores are being killed by the influx of discount stores. Research shows that 2 out of 3 Americans prefer to shop at discount stores over department stores, due to trying to find the best price, rather than to pay full price for what they want or need.

When the American nation was in a recession, our consumers began to gravitate more and more to discount stores. Even once the economy stabilized somewhat, consumers continued to return to discount stores like number 1 ranked TJ Maxx over the larger department stores. Many consumers just don’t want to back to paying full price for their items.

Two-Thirds of consumers account for off price buying, at discount stores according to a study by the NPD Group, an industry research firm. Consumers buying activity has hit the clothing marketing industry really hard. Hardcore apparel purchasers, or off price buyers represent 75% of all apparel purchasers across many retail channels, according to the research by the NPD Group.

This report bares bad news for high end clothing marketers such as Nordstrom, Macy’s and Kohl’s. While all 3 stores do have off price brands, they still make less profit off of their deeply discounted apparel. This is causing their sales to dive at their high end, full priced apparel stores.

The NPD Group goes on to state that Macy’s store sales have fallen 7.4% in the most recent fiscal quarter. Nordstrom took a much smaller downward slide at 1.7%, and Kohl’s slid down by 3.9%

The shares from the three stores researched, Nordstrom, Kohl’s, and Macy’s have lost a great percentage of their stock pricing.

Both Macy’s and Nordstrom’s have lost roughly half of their value within the last year, while Kohl’s has lost around 40 percent of their value. A chief industry analyst for NPD, Marshal Cohen has stated, “Off-price retailers, being second only behind online sales in terms of the growth rate. These retailers resonate with fashion for cost-conscious consumers, while making the higher end retailers feel as if they are being stolen from.

Visits to off-price retail shops have increased by 4% in the 12th month that ended in April 2016. It is clear that consumers are looking for better deals, and knowing that they can find the deals they are going to off-price retailers, to shop for their needs and wants according to Marshal Cohen. While searching for discounted merchandise, consumers are saving more money by spending less on clothing.

header img via racked.com

Macy’s, one of the most famous department store brands in the world, is dealing with heavy corporate losses and as a result have announced they will be closing dozens of stores next year. In all, nearly 100 stores will officially close and the company will push its online investments more. Currently the largest department store chain in the country, the closures consist of 14 per cent of its total stores across the country.

The company stated that it is going to increase its exclusive products and are going to prioritize the investments in the stores to provide a higher growth potential. Shares of the company have also fallen amid second-quarter results that show that both profits and sales are down.

Since The Great Recession, Macy’s has had good sales but the sales have continued to slow as the company began to compete against other companies like TJ Maxx, which is snapping up more and more of the market share and cutting into the bottom line of Macy’s.

Macy’s will now have 666 stores around the country, well below its peak of 868 stores in 2007.

Amidst the ongoing battle of declining traffic and sales, Target is slated to open several small stores in predominantly urban centres where millennials live. From New York City to Pennsylvania and California, these smaller, focussed stores, will target (excuse the pun) college students to young parents.

In a location geared toward students of the University of Minnesota, items such as ping pong balls, beer, twin sized bedding and mini household items like ironing boards – all college essentials – are all in stock.

With Amazon Prime making it easy for city dwellers to get their essentials within a day or less, Target wants to come in a get a slice of the pie.  

The new stores will be less than 50,000 sq ft and when compared to the average Target store of 145,000 sq ft, you can easily see the difference. The new locations will pop up in spaces which may once have been occupied by small neighborhood retailers.

Chief Executive Brian Cornell sees another major benefit these smaller stores have by using the locations as a pick up spot, “as opposed to getting that ugly sticker from UPS or FedEx that says ‘oops I missed you…’

Mr. Cornell went on to comment about the outlook of these stores into 2017, 2018 and beyond, “It brings us into neighborhoods where we don’t exist today and where there is demand for our brand.”

While some, such as Mr. Cornell are positive about the smaller stores, there are still some analysts who believe this is a limited growth opportunity: “A store in downtown Manhattan is interesting, but is it scalable?” said Barclays analyst Matthew McClintock. “Wal-Mart couldn’t make it work with a better logistical network. It makes you wonder how Target is going to succeed.”

This isn’t the first time a big box retailer is taking on smaller stores, Wal Mart tried and failed earlier this year with their “Wal Mart Express” experiment. All 100 of the stores ended up shutting down.

header img source

Retailers have been shutting doors left and right from East, West and all over the United States. Arguably, a big driver behind that is the success of Amazon. Ironically, retail is expected to rise, but only if brick and mortar stores can take steps to drive foot traffic to their particular store. Even so, that is not the best plan of action for all companies; some have decided to take their business solely online. Read on to find out the best elements of the consumer experience to add to your own store to best compete.

Have a Digitally-Integrated Business to Some Degree

It is a prerequisite to have a digitally-integrated business. The percentage of business that will be conducted online with vary from company to company. For some, including many department stores, have announced focusing more on online offerings and closing a percentage of their physical locations. As long as e-commerce and m-commerce is up to par, that can be a smart move. Then the focus can remain on the physical stores that have shown promise of growth. Another option, is going the route of The Limited, which revealed they will be moving to a strictly e-commerce platform. An example of a company with an incredible omnichannel platform is Warby Parker. Coincidentally, they are doing the opposite of many retailers are and moving their strictly online store to brick and mortar will some selectively placed retail locations.

Create an Experience

We live in a digital society that still craves in-person interaction. So, how do you best deliver the best experiences across platforms? Online, customers want to see reliable and fast customer support, personalized content, and offers relevant to each consumer. Instead of relying entirely on demographics alone, using comprehensive data based on previous purchases, searches, etc will enable a site to better engage with each individual. The online store needs to feel like it exists to make life easier.

For a brick and mortar location, the store needs to be able to pick up where the online site leaves off. For example, Home Depot and Lowes have seen a 23 percent rise in retail the recent quarter partially due to their in-store experience. Both stores have associates that have created an environment of helpfulness. When a homeowner has a lighting issue or need help picking a paint color they have a safe space to go in and ask for solutions on products and course of action. That in turn, makes them irreplaceable and keeps the store going strong. Other retail locations can find their niche and how they can make themselves indispensable to their customer.

There is no one size fits all solution to finding the best path to compete in the hostile retailer environment. For some companies and online-only approach is best, for others a marriage between the two is key. Either way, a strong digital approach cannot be ignored. Thorough research on customer needs and data showing what channels drive most success can pinpoint the best plan of action. This way, you can avoid getting “Amazoned” before its too late.

After years of low sales, Aeropostale Inc. has filed for bankruptcy, now that customers have moved on to other fast-fashion competitors and online stores. As it goes through bankruptcy, it plans to stay open with operating cash flow and a loan from Crystal Financial LLC of 160 million dollars.

The company stays optimistic that it will reemerge from bankruptcy once disputes are settled with Sycamore Partners, Aeropostale’s former shareholder. Sycamore Partners gave the company 150 million dollars in 2014. Thanks to this dispute, Aeropostale was considering selling along with other strategies.

While they hope to settle their debts and financial troubles, it won’t do much for their market share. After bankruptcy they will have fewer stores and a smaller company overall, making them more profitable, but they still need customers.

Aeropostale is planning on closing all stores in Canada and more than 100 stores in the United States. They must use bankruptcy to take the time to rethink their strategy.

They are not the only company trying to sell to the teen market that’s in trouble. Quiksilver Inc., Sports Authority and American Apparel all filed for bankruptcy in the past year. Other similar companies such as American Eagle Outfitters and Abercrombie and Fitch have held on to their market shares by keeping up with fashion trends and controlling their inventories better.

Fast-fashion retailers like Zara, Forever 21 and H&M have cut into the teen market. Across the United States and Puerto Rico, Aeropostale had 739 stores, with a small chain of 25 P.S. from Aeropostale stores as well. Their assets were also in the range of 100 to 500 million dollars, with liabilities from 100 to 500 million as well.

(header img via inquisitr.com)

Whether it is Dollar General, Dollar Tree or Family Dollar… discount stores are one of the hottest retail spaces in your local strip mall. And, actually now in the entire retail sector. In fact, off-price general merchandise stores and closeout stores are helping sustain momentum in retail sales.

Amid a soul-crushing year for retail, discount stores have opened more stores than closed them and many of them have been erected in new markets. According to reports, as of February 3, 2017, Dollar General has 13,320 stores and Family Dollar/Dollar Tree operates 14,200 stores  in the U.S and Canada. The previous year alone they opened around 500- 600 new locations in the previous year.

Reaching new customers

These stores are not resting on their laurels; they are at work planning the extension of their reach within not just the discount sector of the market but beyond. One way in which they are doing this is through establishing new locations as freestanding locations. They are trying to get out of the strip-mall stigma. Also, they are opening in smaller markets and aiming to be the first off-price retailer in that area says Randy Blankstein of the Boulder Group. He also told National Real Estate Investor Online, that most markets can only bear one dollar store. This makes being the first one a top priority.

Calling the Millennials

Now dollar stores are not just trying to reach more of the same customer in different locations, they’re looking at a different demographic entirely- the Millennial. Dollar General has come up with two different store concepts. DGX has been through experimentation since 2016 in Raleigh, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee. This store is about half the size of the standard store and is appealing to the younger customer with high-volume checkout lanes, to-go goods for immediate consumption and “limited assortment of grocery offerings, pet supplies, candies and snacks, paper products, home cleaning supplies and an expanded health and beauty section.”

Dollar stores have had a share in the market from the beginning, but really gained traction during the recession. What’s interesting is that consumer behavior would predict that since wages and jobs are up that customers would forgo the discount stores to resume patronage at many of their old higher-priced stomping grounds. It seems though that there still is uncertainty around the financial landscape that have been pushing consumers to remain frugal with their spending. That coupled with the rise of e-commerce, may keep them afloat since they are more immune to the online shopping experience. All in all, off-price retailers may just be the unlikely savior of retail.

Privacy is a sensitive topic. Increasingly, consumers have been ditching it for the sake of convenience. We now live in the time of auto-pay, and Alexa knows the ins and outs of our daily lives. Not so long ago, we feared e-commerce’s use of cookies to make personal recommendations based on our observed interests.

The Price of Personalization
Digital personalization technologies offer practical ways for businesses to capture and control client data. They intended to deliver personalized customer experiences and decrease returns. In a data-driven world, amid security breaches among significant brands, customers still show little reluctance regarding e-commerce. Sensitive information such as their card transaction, website visits, movements, and location are frequently collected to build up a picture of their habits and preferences.

For those who prefer shopping brick-and-mortar, they will find their habits tracked even online as recognition technology finds its way into stores. As retail stores grapple with theft issues, a Racked report reveals that stores could be using facial recognition technology to track consumers in a bid to apprehend shoplifters. A National Retail Federal survey data quoted by Racked says offline stores lose around $48.9 billion annually to thieves.

Facial Recognition in Brick-and-Mortar Stores
To prevent loss, some retail stores turned to companies like FaceFirst and StopLift. This technology allows companies to upload images of people they wish to monitor, such as those who have stolen from their stores previously and other suspects. Once in the system, the FaceLift technology recognizes a shoplifter the moment they enter a store. FaceLift claims it has brought down theft by around 34% in stores.

While minimizing theft is a noble feat, there are concerns regarding technology. Computerworld.com reports that face recognition is 100 times more dangerous than all systems of identification regarding the potential for privacy violation. Unlike a fingerprint, wrist vein scans, iris scans, and other biometric data which require permission to capture, the facial recognition technology does not. They just need a photo.

Pictures are easy to obtain. Retail companies regularly photograph clients using video cameras and intelligent software. More so, it is incredibly easy to connect images to names. Once complete, the information can be used to track clients easily. A name can easily lead to a home address, phone number, and a substantial amount of other data, putting the consumer at risk.