Industry Headlines: August 1, 2013
- The Future of Gift Cards: Passbook may be the new future of gift cards and loyalty cards. (NRF Stores)
- Booming first half for Majid Al Futtaim group: The owner of some of the UAE’s largest malls is doing quite well this year. (The National)
- H&M Aiming to Catch Zara With Delayed American Web Push: Whether this will have an impact on its brick and mortar business remains to be seen. (Bloomberg)
- Why Online Conversations Don’t Matter Anymore (and Never Did): Shoppers aren’t looking for friends from brands online—they’re looking for solutions. (Open Forum)
- 4 Smart Textiles You’ve Yet To See: Fashion is about to get a whole lot smarter. (PopSci)
- HBC-Saks: Can one icon give another the glow it needs?: HBC is looking for luxury, and a $2.9 billion deal might be just what it takes. (The Globe and Mail)
- Back-to-School Retailers Shift to Dorm-Room Market: Marketing back-to-school isn’t child’s play – not this year. (Bloomberg Businessweek)
- Small apparel stores adapt to big competition from U.S. chains: Canadian fashion proves that the little guys can compete. (Vancouver Sun)
- Coupons See Post-Recession Recovery: Extreme-couponing aside, shoppers are getting back into coupons with a technological edge. (MediaPost)
- General Growth to Sell Its Stakes in Brazil’s Aliansce: CPP is one of two buyers in the $690 million deal. (Bloomberg)
- Simon Property raises outlook as profit tops expectations: A great second quarter gives investors something to look forward to. (Reuters)
- Biggest Mall Owner In U.S. Waiting For Washington To “Feel Good” About Tracking Technology: Speaking of Simon, it’s staying out of the shopper-tracking game until regulators are on board. (Buzzfeed)
- A cool Olympic legacy: Giant indoor ski centre in East London will be biggest in UK: Westfield Stratford City hopes to have the hill open by 2015. (Daily Mail)
- Shopping centres defy web competitors with $11.5bn project spend: Australian developers aren’t willing to sit out the next stage of retail expansion. (BRW)
- Heatwave pushes UK retail sales to July high: Some retailers have struggled in the heat, but for the most part shoppers were eager to go in for warm weather wear. (The Guardian)
