U.S. retail sales fell in February ahead of virus impact
The report suggests consumers had already begun to scale back on spending before the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. began accelerating.
Retail
Articles
Amazon to hire 100,000 in U.S., raise pay by $2 per hour to keep up with demand
Raises will go to workers at Amazon’s warehouses, delivery centers and Whole Foods grocery stores, all of whom make at least $15 an hour.
Hogsett closes gyms, entertainment venues and nightclubs—and warns against local travel
The order will be in effect for at least seven days. Hogsett plans to seek permission from the Indianapolis City-County Council on Monday night to extend the order to April 5.
Handcrafted gift shop Artisans set to open on Mass Ave
The shop, which will sell handmade items from artisans in the United States and abroad, is taking the space formerly occupied by the gift shop Pumkinfish. Also this week: MAC Cosmetics, Burlington Stores, Aldi.
Louie’s Wine Dive closes Mass Ave location
The closure marks Louie’s Wine Dive’s exit from Indianapolis. The company closed its Broad Ripple location in September.
Greenwood entrepreneur turning Franklin church into commercial venue
It will add to a mix of new businesses in the town center. Also this week: Dave & Buster’s, VetIQ, Jiffy Lube, Ross Dress for Less, Sears Outlet and more.
McCammon’s Irish Market acquires Brownsburg garden center
Greg and Lisa Frazee, who opened Frazee Gardens in 2008, will continue to own and operate Brownsburg Landscape Co., which they founded in 1987.
Best Chocolate in Town acquired, closes Mass Ave store
Longtime local candy company The Best Chocolate in Town has been acquired by Indianapolis-based Newfangled Confections, which is known for it popular signature Frittle candy.
Historic downtown building up for sale
The building, at 42 E. Washington St., houses Gallery Forty Two art gallery and is believed to be the city’s oldest commercial structure.
Simon, other new Forever 21 owners in talks to keep most U.S. stores open
Authentic Brands Group, Simon Property Group Inc. and Brookfield Property Partners LP have finalized their $81 million acquisition of the struggling retailer, they announced Wednesday.
Bottleworks’ Phase I could be 80% full when it opens
With its debut just months away, the 12-acre, $300 million Bottleworks District on the north end of Massachusetts Avenue has a majority of its Phase I office and entertainment space and nearly all of its food hall leased.
Alcohol colossus seeking Indiana permit after Supreme Court ruling opens door
Total Wine & More, the nation’s largest retailer of beer, wine and spirits, has applied to the Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission to open a store in part of a former Marsh Supermarkets in Nora.
Investors keep their distance from Simon stock
David Simon said Simon Property Group’s ability to buy a company for $3.6 billion in cash without having to turn to a third party for financing and without suffering credit rating downgrades is a testament to the underappreciated strengths of the business.
Long-vacant 46th Street building will soon be multi-tenant retail space
The building’s tenants will include Black Circle Brewing Co., Gold Leaf Savory & Sweet restaurant and Early Kind, a cosmetics and lifestyle retailer.
Peapod never achieved big job-creation goals in Indianapolis
The grocery delivery service, which entered the Indianapolis market in 2011, had hoped to grow its local workforce to as many as 238 employees but fell far short of that goal. On Tuesday, it announced it was pulling out of Indianapolis and other Midwestern markets.
Peapod to end grocery delivery in Indiana on Feb. 18
Ahold Delhaize USA, which owns the Peapod brand, said Tuesday that it is closing its Midwest division as part of a shift in strategy, in part to focus on its East Coast grocery stores.
Josh Owens left SupplyKick weeks before dropping out of governor’s race
Owens told IBJ on Tuesday that he left his job as CEO of local tech firm SupplyKick in early January in part to focus on his run for governor. Now that he’s not running for governor, he said he hasn’t decided what his next move is.
All-ages entertainment center launching in Brownsburg
The owner is a Brownsburg technical writer with five children who spent a year studying similar venues around the country. He’d like to replicate Press Play Gaming Lounge in other Indiana markets.
Macy’s to close 125 stores, shed 2,000 corporate jobs
Macy’s said Tuesday it is closing 125 of its least productive stores and cutting 2,000 corporate jobs as the struggling department store tries to reinvent itself in the age of online shopping. The store closures represent about one-fifth of Macy’s current total. They include about 30 that are in the process of closing and account […]
Clock ticking for companies that depend on China imports
If much of industrial China remains on lockdown for the next few weeks, Western retailers, auto companies and manufacturers that depend on Chinese imports will start to run out of the goods they depend on.