Eoin Tonge has revealed how Primark, which trades as Penneys in Ireland, is making female shoppers the linchpin for a revamped offering designed to re-energise the iconic chain across its international markets.
We used to be strong and a pacesetter. We haven't been for the last few years. His assessment was clear: Target has lost its way and, to some extent, its identity. The retailer affectionately nicknamed 'Tarzhay' for its cheap-chic merchandise had earlier on Tuesday reported a fourth quarter in a row of declining comparable sales.
Target plans to refocus on the needs of "busy families," new CEO Michael Fiddelke told investors yesterday as the retail chain tries to win back customers. The issue: Target has been struggling to turn itself around ever since a pandemic-era revenue boom subsided into stagnancy. Some customers told CNBC that they feel store inventory is lacking and that they aren't fans of Target's DEI rollbacks.
Target is not an everything store, said Fiddelke, who took over as Target's chief executive last month. He said Target would focus on winning busy families as its primary customer base. Target will also increase capital spending by 25% to $5 billion this year to bolster operations, technology and other areas of the business.
Our rental property ambition was based on a very different financial environment: one with more stable investment returns, lower borrowing costs, and more affordable costs to build homes. A fundamental shift in the economic conditions that underpinned the venture when it launched has made this business model unviable for John Lewis moving forward.
"So my strategy was, I'm going to put a Gong Cha - the first five stores - next to Starbucks," Berry told CNBC. "And if I can get one in a hundred people who are going into Starbucks to come and try a Gong Cha, then I've got a business."
Amazon Fresh stores served as a physical counterpart to Amazon's online grocery delivery service by the same name while Amazon Go stores offered convenience store staples with a high-tech checkout twist. "After a careful evaluation of the business and how we can best serve customers, we've made the difficult decision to close our Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, converting various locations into Whole Foods Market stores," Amazon wrote in a blog update, adding that it "gathered valuable insights" during their operation.
Statistics from the 2025 holiday shopping season clearly show that AI is playing a huge role in how people shop. But new research from retail payment platform Adyen found that many consumers are ready for AI to become their personal shopper. Just over half-51%-said they're open to letting AI take over the entire shopping process, including making final purchases. Millennials are the most willing to let agents do their shopping, with nearly three in five saying they are ready for such a shift.
Yet the automaker nearly doubled its sales in Japan and the way it pulled that off offers a useful lesson for automakers struggling to sell EVs. Japan is still a very small EV market compared to the U.S., China, or even Europe. Of the roughly 3.8 million vehicles sold in Japan last year, only about 60,677 were battery powered, according to multiple local news reports. Even so, Tesla delivered a record 10,600 vehicles in the country, nearly doubling its 2024 sales.
The company recently announced that the closure-part of a larger plan affecting nine other U.S. stores-is an effort to "place greater attention on our high-performing and high-potential store locations." The additional closures, set to begin in January 2026, include locations in Austin, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; East Hanover, New Jersey; Niagara Falls, New York; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Plymouth, Michigan; Washington, D.C.; and West Hartford, Connecticut.
IKEA is well known for its monster-sized warehouses in major cities, but bosses have a plan to open new format stores in smaller towns in 2026, as it seeks to expand its footprint in France. The Swedish furniture brand is planning to open a new generation of smaller stores in medium-sized towns and cities across France, "where [they are not] yet present (...) in existing spaces and buildings that [they could] rent rather than build."
In the new area, which the company said will be trialled until Christmas, customers will be served with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine or hot drink as well as hand and arm massages and Waitrose chocolates. Rosie Hanley, brand director at John Lewis, said: This trial is a perfect example of our wider strategy investing in our stores to offer unique, service-led experiences that our customers can't get anywhere else. [This is] about rewarding loyalty with a premium experience.
Target is cutting about 1,000 corporate positions and eliminating 800 open roles as part of an effort to speed up business decision-making and drive growth under its new chief executive, Michael Fiddelke. Fiddelke, who will succeed Brian Cornell as CEO in February, has been focused on ways to speed up the way corporate teams work, turning the company into a leaner and faster organization to drive innovation. This includes eliminating layers of management.
"We're seeing some dispersion between the high income earners and the low income earners," Corie Barry told the Fortune Most Powerful Women summit on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. "If I just level up, that is probably what keeps me up at night."
As retail chains scaled, the focus shifted to shelf space. The brands that occupied the most shelf space inside the store gained an immediate advantage. When shopping moved online, the fight shifted from real estate to clicks and traffic. Social commerce has fundamentally transformed the way people shop. Discovery and checkout are merging into a single cycle, creating both opportunities and chaos, which is precisely why brands need their own creator infrastructure.
For so long, retailers have been told that what sets brick-and-mortar apart is the "human element." But a landmark new survey shows exactly the opposite: roughly half of younger consumers prefer a shopping experience that lets them avoid other people. Convenience and efficiency loom large here: more than three-quarters of Gen Z and millennial shoppers regularly choose online purchases and curbside or in-store pickup.
