Extensive store closings announced by Express, Rue21, CVS and Macy’s make for big headlines, yet in actuality, the U.S. retail landscape is stable. That’s a key takeaway from a Coresight Research report issued a few days ago showing this year’s pace of store closings is on a track similar to last year’s, reflecting “normalizing” trends … Read more
Nearly nine million Canadians lived in food insecure households in 2022, with 22.9 per cent of the population reporting some form of food insecurity, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday. The data agency wrote in its annual Canadian Income Survey that 8.7 million people lived in households that reported some kind of food insecurity. … Read more
MILAN — Coltorti no more — the storied Italian multibrand retailer is changing gears after 90 years in business, adopting the moniker of Residenza 725 from April 10, when the rebranding will be officially revealed at its four physical doors in Italy and on its e-commerce site. The move signals “more than a mere restyling, but … Read more
Although high borrowing costs and tight credit conditions persisted for consumers, a strong job market and rising wages helped fuel consumer spending during the holiday shopping period in the final months of 2023. Prior to the holidays, I stated my belief that — on a non-inflation adjusted basis — retail sales would increase 3 to … Read more
The revelation that Loblaw will end its 50 per cent discount on perishable foods like meat, fruit and vegetables as they near their best-before dates should attract the attention of Canada’s Competition Bureau, says one industry expert. Prof. Sylvain Charlebois, the director of Dalhousie University’s Agri-food Analytics Lab, believes the action taken by the grocery chain to align its policy with other food retailers might be … Read more
Statistics Canada says the total number of jobs in December was virtually unchanged for the month as the unemployment rate held steady at 5.8 per cent. The agency says the economy added a total of 100 jobs for the final month of the year. The result came as the number of full-time jobs fell by 23,500 in December, offset … Read more
Modest sales gains. Improved margins. Greater data dependence. Tightening the reins on inventory and costs. In a nutshell, that’s much of what retailers foresee and plan for 2024. After getting through COVID-19, supply chain challenges, and sudden swings in consumer shopping habits, retailers yearn for less market volatility. But they’ve become more agile and equipped … Read more
Our planet is changing. So is our journalism. This weekly newsletter is part of a CBC News initiative entitled “Our Changing Planet” to show and explain the effects of climate change. Keep up with the latest news on our Climate and Environment page. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox every Thursday. This week: Christmas … Read more
