As an editor of Retail Dive, it’s my job to keep tabs on every piece of retail-related news — the good, the bad, and the silly. From New Balance's new cool-kid vibe to some Wal-Mart trivia, below are some of the most interesting reads from the past week.
A drone under the tree
Complete with a puny headline, the Wall Street Journal reports that Sam’s Club is making a high-reaching bet on drones this Christmas, stocking around a dozen models ranging in price.
David’s makeover
David’s Bridal talks with Racked about its move to rebrand from lackluster bridal shop to a fashion-driven, Pinterest-inspiring wedding retailer.
"David’s Bridal’s reputation used to be that it was the Wal-Mart of bridal," CEO Pamela B. Wallack told Racked, "we’ve changed that internally and externally.”
Not your daddy’s New Balance
New Balance is ramping up its efforts to compete in the U.S. sneaker market, according to CNBC. Catering to all the sneakerheads out there, it’s adding to its customization program while continuing to partner with athletes and hip retailers like Kate Spade and J. Crew.
Tricksty Whole Foods
In unveiling the name of Whole Food’s new chain of small stores with lower prices (365, after its "365 Everyday Value" brand), co-CEO Walter Robb told the Associate Press that the company devised many decoy names for the stores before the reveal. Smokescreens included Clever Egg, DailyShop, Greenlife, Small Batch, and Swiftgoods.
The more you know
What company sells 1 billion pounds of bananas each year and, if it was a country, would have a GDP larger than Austria? Wal-Mart, according to Fortune's handy list of nine facts about the world’s largest company, perfect for that party "did you know?".
