Jeff Halverson

Celebrating a win for California’s retail safety. Proposition 36 passed! 🎉 Proposition 36 rolls back parts of the controversial Proposition 47. Proposition 47, passed in 2014, was ironically called the “Safer Streets” proposition, even though it was designed to reduce jail overcrowding. It was meant to reverse historic tough-on-crime policies and divert money spent on incarceration to rehabilitation. The crime reform was well-intended but had unintended side effects for organized retail crime prevention. The proposition raised the felony threshold for prosecuting shoplifters to $950. Anyone caught for shoplifting under $950 would be cited with a ticket and released. It wasn’t a strong disincentive for repeat offenders. Ultimately, Prop 47 fueled a surge in commercial burglary (smash & grab) and shoplifting. It’s no surprise that 70.4% of voters approved the new proposition.. Under the new Proposition 36, people found guilty of shoplifting will now be more likely to face felony charges that were previously classified. Shoplifting under $950 is now punishable by up to three years if the offender has “two or more past convictions for certain theft crimes. It also increases potential punishment and jail sentences based on the total amount of goods stolen from prior incidents. Finally, it lengthens felony sentences by up to three years if at least three people jointly commit a theft or property crime or there is property damage. Congrats to all my ORC and LP friends who oversee stores in California! 

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Sales dipped and profits were lower for Dillard’s, whose CEO expressed disappointment in the Little Rock-based retailer’s performance. Dillard’s reported Thursday (Aug. 15) revenue of $1.514 billion in the second quarter compared to $1.597 billion in last year’s second quarter. Analysts projected second-quarter revenue at $1.53 billion. #retailsales #earningsreport #departmentstores

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As a GOOD AMERICAN customer, I can’t wait to experience the store. 👖As a former merchant, having a digital option to showcase styling, fit and product knowledge would have given me the confidence that my merchandising strategy was being executed in the store without having to physically be on location. 📺This is a great way to make sure teams are product obsessed with the constant graphics and that the visual merchandising / styling options are being showcased at the store. 🛍️To make sure this extension of digital is a success, Good American would need to keep the content fresh and consistent with real time inventory and reflective of the current product assortment. Sales associates would still need to be product obsessed but they would also need to show customers what is possible with the digital screens. The experience should augment and assist the sales associate and not be considered a replacement of staff. 🔹The excitement of finding a product on the screen, loving the look and being disappointed if the item or the size is not available could also drive customers away. GA would need to be on top of their inventory position and have a good handle of managing their inventory across all channels. 🗞️Check out more #BrainTrust comments on RetailWire: https://lnkd.in/eDJp--GF #retail #retailnews #goodamerican #cx #stores #merchandising #TRE #TopRetailExpert

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Macy's is adding staff to its women’s shoes and handbags departments in an effort to improve sales. On the company’s third quarter earnings conference call, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. Tony Spring told analysts that the retailer has been testing this initiative at about 100 locations. “Having dedicated runners to get shoes from the stock room and salespeople available to assist in handbags allows our colleagues to spend more time with the customer,” Spring noted.

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The Retail Monitor, a monthly survey from CNBC and the National Retail Federation (NRF), found that sales ticked up 0.26% from March to April. NRF CEO Matthew Shay attributed the modest increase to “a growing job market and real gains in wages,” but qualified that “consumers remain focused on value and price and are shifting their spending patterns where needed to make ends meet.” #retailsales #economicgrowth

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Ahead of financial reports from major off-price retailers, several analysts reiterated the strength of the sector, which tends to do well in up or down economies, with shoppers from a broad income range. These retailers also enjoy a real estate advantage, with most located away from malls in small centers with convenient parking, and are poised to take market share as Macy’s works through its planned closures of 150 stores. #offpriceretail #retailstrategy

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With the 8.1% sales decline accelerating over the last quarter and with losses growing on the bottom line, JCPenney has started its new fiscal year on a sour note. Unfortunately, the market has been soft which has not helped revenue, but as it is only part way through its reinvention program JC Penney also isn’t firmly on the front foot. Lower credit income is also unhelpful, with revenues here down by 20.5 over last year.   The changes JCP has been making to some stores and to assortments seem to be delivering, with refurbished shops performing better and some categories like womenswear producing stronger numbers. Sadly, these things are not yet sufficiently developed or widespread enough to offset staleness in the balance of the business. Basically, there is still a lot of work to do to put JCP on a more stable footing.   Fortunately for JCPenney, it is well financed and has a strong financial partner in its owners. As such, management won’t lose too much sleep over being in the red. However, the company needs to produce some better results across the remainder of this fiscal to prove its strategy is working. It was great to chat with Daphne Howland of Retail Dive about the latest Q1 numbers - link to article in the comments. #retail #retailnews #departmentstores #trading #apparel

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A brand-new course has been launched….. GRAY CAT LEARNING SERIES: MERCHANDISING Merchandising is a critical aspect of how “shoppable” a store will be. Conceal or confuse the customer with your merchandising and it won’t matter if you carry the top brands, the customer will become frustrated and leave the store. Many retailers simply “stack it high and let it fly” without considering the nuances of proper merchandising. By guiding the customer through your store with their favorite products that are easily accessible, the retailer has an excellent opportunity to turn merchandise inventory more quickly and thus increase profits. The goal of this course is to provide you with an overall merchandising strategy to make the shopping experience quick, efficient and easy for the customer. While some customers may wish to “shop” the store and take more time, let that be their choice, not forced into that mode by poor merchandising. Here is the link for the Merchandising course: https://lnkd.in/da7mFFCN Available as an individual course or as part of a company-wide program (contact me for details). Gray Cat Enterprises, Inc. #graycatenterprises #managementconsulting #conveniencestores #franchise #retail #merchandising

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Why Retail Needs Active Training and Impactful Coaching #RetailSuccess #EffectiveTraining https://hubs.ly/Q02D9FFv0

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Target announced it's Q3 earnings today and boy did their stock take a turn for the worse. This is concerning as Walmart just announced yesterday to Wall Street increased sales expectations and brought up their forecasts, while in turn, Target is dropping theirs. +0.3% comparable sales, driven by strong traffic and digital performance. (1.9%) store comparable sales +2.4% increase to guest traffic +10.8% increase in digital comparable sales, reflecting nearly 20% growth in same-day delivery powered by Target Circle 360™ and double digit growth in Drive Up.  Beauty comparable sales grew more than 6%. Food & Beverage and Essentials categories grew low-single digits compared to the prior year. (0.2%) decrease to gross margin rate. Year-to-date, gross margin rate has expanded by a full percentage point compared to last year. #Target #Walmart #sales #digital #beauty #traffic #grossmargin parallel retail group

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Aloha Friday! 🤙🏼 Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Friday, December 6: 💄 Shares of Ulta Beauty rallied after hours on Thursday after it offered a more upbeat full-year sales forecast, saying efforts to counterbalance steeper competition were showing signs of gaining traction. 🚛 Dollar General said it is testing same-day delivery from about 75 of its stores. On an earnings call, CEO Todd Vasos said the company ultimately expects it will expand the offering to thousands of stores. 🍋 Kroger on Thursday said lower fuel prices and the sale of its specialty-pharmacy business weighed on third-quarter sales, and that it expects fourth-quarter same-store sales to be lower than those in the third. 🚜 Tractor Supply Company outlined its long-term financial targets at its Investment Community Day event, targeting top- and bottom-line growth through 2030. It is aiming to increase net sales by between 6% and 8%. 🐶 Chewy reported Q3 net sales grew nearly 5%year over year to $2.9 billion, exceeding the high end of its guidance for the quarter. It moved into the black during the quarter, reporting an operating income of $25.6 million. 🚚 DoorDash delivery now includes David’s Bridal. The new partnership makes David’s Bridal the first merchant of Doordash’s wedding and special occasion category. 🧘🏽‍♂️ lululemon’s US growth is continuing to slow, but the athletic apparel retailer is making big gains abroad, leading to a 9% increase in sales year over year. And the yoga pants company on Thursday beat Wall Street’s expectations. 👙 Victoria's Secret raised its full-year sales outlook after making gains via the back-to-school season and a new sportswear launch, noting that improved performance had continued through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 🎮 GameStop’s shares jumped on Thursday after a cryptic post from meme stock influencer Keith Gill. Following his post, GameStop’s shares spiked and traded as high as $30.87. The stock closed up 6% at $28.63. 🚙 Vehicle owners are falling behind on routine maintenance, with many experts attributing this to the rising cost of repairs. More than 30 million cars that are on the road are behind on both oil changes and tire rotations. 📉 Mortgage rates moved lower for the second consecutive week, sending purchase applications higher in further signs of pent-up demand amid an ongoing affordability crisis in the housing market. 🍺 Miller High Life is releasing High Life Dive Bar-Fume, a perfume meant to evoke to scents of beer, barstools, greasy food, and everything else that can be found at one's preferred watering hole. 🕯️ Bath & Body Works' highly anticipated event of the year, Candle Day, is returning in stores and online this weekend. 💤 Luxury sleepwear brand Petite Plume is ramping up product partnerships outside of fashion in an effort to expand into a lifestyle brand. #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews

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Target reported a rather soft first quarter, with declines in sales and revenue that reflect overall shopping habits. Although the retailer didn’t open the year with a bang, it is setting up for growth later in the year through new initiatives and, hopefully, in a more conducive selling environment. #retailsales #target

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Retail sales reported by the National Retail Federation Retail Monitor indicated consumer spending slowed in June compared to May. Excluding automobile and gasoline, sales were up 0.47% from May, slower than the 1.35% growth reported in May. However, retail sales grew 3.42% from June 2023, which was the highest gain for total sales since last November. Retail sales were only slightly higher than the 3% inflation rate for the same period. #retailsales #nrf

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Retail sales increased again in August as consumer demand and easing inflation overcame slower job growth, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions, released today by the National Retail Federation. #retailsales #economicoutlook #nrf

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Kmart used to be the Retail King! Sadly, the crown hasn’t been theirs for quite some time. K-mart's fall from grace can be linked to (but not limited to): ▶️A failure of to innovate in the face of competition from the likes of Wal-Mart (although this is not just restricted to K-mart only, department stores in general are laggards when it comes to innovation). ▶️Second, poor standards of product assortments and visual merchandising. ▶️Finally, a merger with Sears where the only value that K-mart brought to the table was its real estate footprint - there was no desire for those in charge to do well as a retail brand. Put these, and other factors, together and the end result is a once iconic brand goes and bites the dust. Is all hope lost for this retailer? Definitely. It's not worth the time, effort or expense to even try. The K-mart brand has been devalued because of years of leadership level ineptness and reviving it will have limited nostalgic benefit....if that. Thank you Nicole Kirichanskaya and Inside Retail US for including my POV on the story alongside my friend Neil Saunders of GlobalData Retail. #retailnews #retail #stores #innovation #merchandising #kmart #TRE

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Looking for some visual merchandising tips? Here are some thoughts on the virtues of mass merchandising from the Specialty Shop Retailing blog. #independentretailers #shoplocal #visualmerchandising #retailing #smallbusiness

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