LISTEN TO ARTICLE 3:09 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email Photographer: Erin Schaff/The New York Times/Bloomberg Gap Inc. is in talks with its store landlords and is paying “what we consider fair rent” as the apparel retailer opens back up amid easing Covid-19 restrictions, Chief Executive Officer Sonia Syngal said in an interview. The company, which reported a deep sales decline for the quarter ended May 2, has opened more than 1,500 stores of its 2,600 stores in North America, saying...

LISTEN TO ARTICLE 1:37 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email Photographer: Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg Cosmetics giant Sephora became the first major retailer to sign onto a pledge to dedicate 15% of its shelf space to products from black-owned businesses. The commitment is part of a “long-term plan diversifying our supply chain and building a system that creates a better platform for black-owned brands to grow,” the company said Wednesday in a statement. It also plans to improve black...

Nearly all of Kohl’s Corp. locations have reopened after the coronavirus pandemic forced shutdowns in mid-March – but they don’t look like they did before. Chief Executive Officer Michelle Gass described the pandemic as the “great accelerator” that has forced her company to further speed up its migration to expand e-commerce and rethink store operations in order to keep employees and customers free of Covid-19. She pointed to the company’s two-week rollout of curbside pick-up for online...

J.C. Penney Co., the department-store chain that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday, said it will close about 29 percent of its stores. The retailer will reduce its store count to about 604, down from the 846 it currently has across the U.S, according to a company filing on Monday. In fiscal 2019, those locations brought in $9.2 billion in net sales. With the smaller store fleet, it expects net sales of $7.5 billion. It will also close two of its distribution centers. The remaining...

J.C. Penney Co., the department-store chain that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday, said it will close about 29% of its stores as part of its broader business plan. The retailer, which has a dozen stores in Metro Detroit, said it would reduce its store count to about 604, down from the 846 it currently has across the U.S, according to a company filing. In fiscal 2019, those locations brought in $9.2 billion in net sales. With the smaller store fleet, it expects net sales of $7.5...