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The government in Quebec announced a proposed modification to the province’s sign rules that would require businesses ibn Quebec to add French to their outdoor signage. They did agree to retailers not having to alter their registered trademark names or logos. These retailers would be required to add a French word, description or slogan to... Read more »

In 2015, 84.2% of American celebrated Mother’s Day, spending an average of $173 per person, totaling spend of $21.2 billion. This was the highest spending per person, up from $163 in 2014. Will 2016 be a strong year for retail Mother’s Day sales? Expectations are that Mother’s Day spending will be similar to last year’s... Read more »

J.C. Penney’s successful 10-year relationship with global beauty brand Sephora is expanding. Sephora currently has over 1,780 locations in 29 countries including 370 in North America and 546 in-store shops inside J.C. Penney stores. The department store retailer announced that it will open 60 additional Sephora shops in Penney stores by June 17th. Among the... Read more »

Lowe’s Home Improvement is launching a new social campaign to make sure they’re reaching millennials as the tech-savvy generation begins to reach the age when they start settling down and buying homes. According to the Wall Street Journal, Lowes is turning to Snapchat and Facebook mobile video to help first-time home buyers discover home improvement... Read more »

According to new research by Green Street Advisors, department stores need to close hundreds of locations to recapture the level of productivity they had a decade ago in 2006. The real-estate research firm estimates that approximately a fifth of all anchor space in U.S. malls, or roughly 800 stores, could be a part of the... Read more »

Amid reports from the Commerce Department that housing starts in March were up 14.2% from last year, paint, drywall and other building suppliers are seeing an uptick in sales. Sherwin Williams reported on their investor call forecast-beating first quarter profits. They reported an 11% increase in sales revenue from its stores and a 44% improvement... Read more »

The second week of April continued to see sluggish retail traffic. According to reports by Citi Research analyst Kate McShane and Cowen and Co. analyst John Kernan, total U.S. retail visits for the week ended April 16 declined 6.58 percent year over year. Total U.S. retail same-store traffic slid 8.75 percent year-over-year for the week while... Read more »

Since it launched in 2005, Amazon has offered its annual Prime membership plan for $99. That breaks down to $8.25 a month. This week the company launched two new subscription plans: a monthly Prime membership plan for $10.99 a month and a monthly Prime Video membership plan for $8.99. Neither requires an annual commitment. The... Read more »

Although economists projected a 0.1% gain in retail spending in March, sales fell 0.3%. Of the 13 retail segments tracked, 9 of the 13 saw spending growth, but 3 categories dropped significantly enough to create the loss: autos, clothing and dining out. Sales decreased 0.9% at clothing chains, the biggest loss since October. The labor... Read more »