• Starbucks Tests Mobile-Only 'Pickup' Concept
    Starbucks opened a pickup-only location in New York that lets customers order ahead through the chain's mobile app and expediently pick up their orders in-store. “In a world where everything from delivery to internet speeds is getting faster, it makes sense that people would want their coffee faster, too,” according to Business Insider.
  • Electric Vehicle Startup Rivian Scores $1.3B Investment
    Electric vehicle startup Rivian closed a $1.3 billion investment round, led by fund manager T. Rowe Price. The figure includes existing investors: Amazon and Ford Motor Co. “While Tesla is the best-known maker, China and Europe are pushing automakers to roll out EVs, and Ford, General Motors and others have announced plans to spend billions of dollars developing the vehicles,” according to Reuters.
  • Chipotle Tests Takeout Windows
    As part of its plan to recover from missteps in recent years, including an E.coli outbreak, Chipotle is testing delivery windows at select stores. The fast-food chain is experimenting with a new layout that smooths things out for online takeout orders. “Chipotle is leaning into what’s working, with online sales up by almost 88%,” per Grub Street. “Lucky residents of Chicago and Phoenix will get to talk to other people as little as possible thanks to these new locations, and San Diego and Newport Beach will each get …
  • Boeing Fires CEO Muilenburg
    Boeing has fired its CEO, Dennis A. Muilenburg, effective immediately. Muilenburg's handling of the 737 Max crisis, precipitated by two crashes that killed 346 people, drew ire from "lawmakers, airlines, regulators and victims’ families," according to The New York Times. David Calhoun, the chairman, will replace Muilenburg,  on Jan. 13. Until then, Boeing’s chief financial officer, Greg Smith, will serve as interim chief executive.
  • Forever 21 Hires Expert To Lead Brand Revamp
    Forever 21, struggling after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September has hired Marisa Thalberg, former global chief brand officer of Taco Bell and current strategic advisor to Yum! Brands (parent of Taco Bell), "in a short-term project to lead its efforts in redefining and transforming" the brand, according to Chain Store Age.
  • Cloudy Skies Continue For Boeing
    Boeing CEO "Dennis Muilenburg’s handling of the 737 Max grounding after two fatal crashes has angered lawmakers, airlines, regulators and victims’ families," according to The New York Times. On Monday Boeing announced it was temporarily shutting down the 737 factory, "a move that has already begun rippling through the national economy."
  • Neil Patrick Harris, Hubby David Burtka Topline Walgreens Campaign
    Celebrity couple Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, David Burtka, star in a Walgreens social media campaign showing "how the retailer can help solve all the holiday dilemmas that pop up throughout the season," according to Drug Store News. Campaign will run through Christmas.
  • Camp: Experiment In Experiential Retail
    Introducing Camp, "a venture-backed 'family experience store' — what would have recently been called a toy store — that blends play and product in hopes of reviving a tired retail toy scene," according to The New York Times. The store has five outlets in affluent areas -- three  in New York City and two more in South Norwalk, Connecticut and Dallas -- which adds to the pressure to succeed in experiential retail, a field that is "thus far, unproven."
  • A Drunken Odyssey At Nordstrom's New Flagship
    “Oh, John, might I request a tequila on the rocks to sip while I try on these Gucci loafers?” Here's what it's like to "drink, eat, and shop all at the same time, like we’re living out some sort of Etsy cross-stitch mantra," at the new New York flagship Nordstrom. Fun post by a Cut reporter, who runs into some shoppers from Dallas who are blase about the ability to shop and drink freely, since "Dallas has one of the 13 other Nordstroms with liquor licenses."
  • Walmart Assembles 'Swat Teams' For its Remodels
    Walmart, which remodels 500 stores a year,  "has quietly rolled out 'SWAT teams' -- small groups of remodeling specialists who go from store to store in big markets such as Atlanta and Dallas," according to Bloomberg. "There are 1,000 SWAT team members now, and the squad will rise to 1,700 by the end of next year as [the retailer] expands to 13 new markets."
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