Retail
Amazon: Third-Party Sellers are Kicking our First-Party Butt
The company is OK with that, CEO Jeff Bezos writes in his annual shareholders letter
The percentage of merchandise sold by independent third-party sellers on Amazon.com has increased markedly the past 20 years and now represents 58 percent of gross merchandise sales, CEO Jeff Bezos wrote in his annual letter to shareholders. Those sellers generated $117 billion in revenue last year. In 1999, third-party sellers represented just 3 percent of…
REI Breaks Revenue Record, Launches Campaign to Get More People Outside
The Kent-based co-op now has 18 million members
REI Co-op reported record financial results last year, reaching $2.78 billion in revenue while also investing more than $8 million into nonprofit organizations across the country. The Kent-based outdoor gear retailer also added 1 million new members, bringing total membership to 18 million. It made a $47.1 million profit. Todays results show that doing good…
Amazons Category-Killer Instincts Hone in on the Grocery Business
Reported plan to launch a new supermarket chain, if accurate, would extend the online retailers growing reach into the brick-and-mortar world
Amazon plans to launch a new grocery-store chain that will be separate from its Whole Foods Market business, which it acquired in a $14 billion deal less than two years ago, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Assuming the news report is accurate, the road ahead in the supermarket business for Amazon…
Funko Goes to Hollywood
Everett, Washington-based retailer of fan-driven memorabilia is planting its flag in the heart of pop culture
Pop-culture consumer products company Funko Inc. is expanding its reach to Tinsel Town, opening a new retail location in the Hollywood. The new location, slated to open later this year, will be on Hollywood Boulevard in East Hollywood, near the Pantages and TLC Chinee theaters. Funkos 40,000-square-foot Los Angeles outlet is its second location, with…
Report: Whole Foods to Rebrand 365 Stores
The chain, which is owned by Amazon, is virtually abandoning its small-store format
Whole Foods Market wont build any more small-format 365 stores. According to Yahoo Finance, the grocery chain which Seattle-based Amazon purchased for $13.7 billion in 2017 said it would keep its existing 12 Whole Foods 365 stores open. There are no Whole Foods 365 stores in Washington state since Whole Foods closed its store at…
Consumers Prefer Costco Over Amazon for the First Time
Amazon had been No. 1 since 2010
Costco Wholesale Corp. is the new king of e-commerce. The Issaquah-based retailer is the No. 1 company in terms of e-commerce customer satisfaction, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index Retail and Consumer Shipping Report. Seattle-based Amazon, the worlds largest online retailer, was bumped from the top spot for the first time since 2009. Costco…
REIs CEO Resigns in the Wake of Failing to Properly Disclose a Personal Relationship
Companys board chair says clear errors of judgment were made, but lauds Jerry Stritzkes past leadership
Outdoor-apparel retailer REI will soon be minus the president and CEO that has headed the company since 2013. Jerry Stritzke announced at an employee meeting this morning, Feb. 14, that he is stepping down in the wake of controversy over a personal relationship that he failed to disclose properly. That relationship created a perceived conflict…
Washington’s Tribal Casinos Are Investing in Expansion to Capitalize Gaming’s Growing Popularity
Tribal casinos expand as gaming becomes a major economic driver.
This article appears in print in the February 2019 issue. Click here for a free subscription. The Kalispell Tribe in Airway Heights, just west of Spokane, recently announced plans to build a second hotel tower as part of a $110 million expansion. The Tulalip Tribes are constructing a $140 million gaming and hotel resort north…
Spokane’s Stay Alfred, Backed by $62 Million in Funding, Seeks to Make a Splash in the Hospitality Market
At Stay Alfred, Airbnb meets the upscale hotel. Founder Jordan Allen says his company has staying power for a simple reason: It puts travelers where the action is.
ROOM KEYS. In Seattle and across the United States, Stay Alfred offers hotel-room reliability in apartments and condo units that it manages.
Seahawks Russell Wilson and Former MLB Superstar Alex Rodriguez Team Up to Launch Fitness Studios in Seattle
The high-profile duo are part of an ownership group that plans to roll out more than 10 locations statewide.
Russell Wilson and Alex Rodriquez are backing an expansion of the TruFusion fitness franchise in Washington.
Hyatt Targets Seattle for New Hotels
The hotelier is taking advantage of a white-hot Seattle hospitality market.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation plans to open 40 hotels in Washington, Oregon and California by the end of 2021, including at least two major properties in the Seattle area to take advantage of increased activity due to the expansion of the Washington State Convention Center. The Chicago-based hotelier said economic growth up and down the coast…
Alaska Airlines Happily Welcomes Japan Airlines New Seattle-Tokyo Route
Take that, Delta!
This article appears in print in the November 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. When Japan Airlines (JAL) announced in September it would launch service between Tokyos Narita Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the usual suspects posed for the usual pictures. There was Lance Lyttle, managing director of Sea-Tac Airport; Ryan Calkins, a…
The 10 Biggest Hotels in Seattle
Ranked by total number of rooms.
This article appears in the June 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. When the monolithic Hyatt Regency Seattle opens later this year at Eighth and Howell, the hotel-room count in downtown Seattle will rise by 1,260 and the Hyatt Regency will supplant the Sheraton Seattle as the largest hotel in the city. For…