Hot retailers come in all sizes and formats, as witnessed by STORES Magazine’s 2018 Hot 100 Retailers report. Nine of the 10 top businesses represent different retail segments, indicating that growth owes more to management and strategy than any kind of tide lifting boats in any particular category.

It's always exciting to open the Hot 100 data and see who tops the list. This year it’s British-owned, Dublin-based Primark, best known as a supplier of fast fashion at prices that represent “value for money.” The retailer has an unyielding focus on volume and keeps a tight rein on operating margins. It appears Primark, which currently operates eight stores (including its newest in Brooklyn, N.Y.), is gaining traction here.

NRF is proud to provide our members with the online Retail Buying Guide to search for trusted vendors, products and services in the retail industry. Our guide is a user-friendly forum designed to bring suppliers and purchasers together. You can search by keyword, location, company name or category. Available whenever you need it, the Retail Buying Guide makes it easy to locate products and professional services geared to the retail industry. Click here to visit the online Retail Buying Guide! To advertise, please contact Sarah Allen for more information.

Autonomous delivery has quickened its pace. Starship Technologies, a robotics startup, recently announced a major commercial rollout of autonomous delivery services for corporate and academic campuses across the United States and Europe.

It’s perfectly OK if you would like something other than fries with that. McDonald’s is now enticing Chicago diners to sample the restaurant chain’s favorites from other parts of the world including a burger from Canada, a spicy chicken sandwich from Hong Kong, loaded fries from Australia, two salads from France and a soft-serve ice cream treat from Brazil.

The digital edition of STORES includes must-read pieces, including the articles featured here. Read the current issue and browse the archives for issues you may have missed.

FreshPaper is a simple but powerful innovation that keeps food fresh for up to four times longer, in or out of the fridge. It started as a middle school science project inspired by an Indian home remedy, but now makes a huge impact on food waste in over 180 countries. Founder and inventor Kavita Shukla tells the story behind the product and the difference her company has made in global communities.

Beauty brand Glossier has become a darling of the digital community for its fresh approach to building a loyal community through social media — a community that guides many of its product development and brand decisions. Ahead of her appearance at the Shop.org conference, NRF talked with Glossier’s head of marketing Ali Weiss about what challenges lay ahead.

With one in four children belonging to Hispanic families, the U.S. Hispanic consumer is a critical driver of how families shop and spend this back-to-school season. NRF’s annual survey found Hispanic parents are expected to spend $148 more than the average shopper this year.

Bell and Howell, the leader in retail click-and-collect solutions, has been selected by Position Imaging, an innovative tracking and logistics company, to provide service and support for Position Imaging’s new retail package management platform. Originally designed for the multi-housing market, Position Imaging has tailored its Smart Package Room to provide retailers with a simplified and streamlined approach to online order fulfillment and package management.

GK Software, a global leader in omnichannel retail, announced that Hy-Vee, an employee-owned retailer operating more than 245 stores in eight Midwestern states, will deploy GK Software’s next-generation store systems, including OmniPOS for omnichannel POS, Mobile Customer Assistant (MCA) for mobile app self-scanning and the TransAction+ payment solution.

RRD, a leading global provider of multichannel solutions for marketing and business communications, announced a new partnership agreement with Sobeys, one of Canada’s largest retailers and only one of two national grocery chains. Through this partnership, RRD will provide Sobeys with store marketing and décor signage print – including production, procurement, fulfillment, warehousing, logistics and installation support for more than 1,200 Sobeys stores, as well as over 1,500 additional stores within Sobeys independent and wholesale operations.

Holt Renfrew, Canada’s specialty retailer of luxury brands, has chosen DHL as sole logistics provider for its air freight and customs brokerage services. DHL Supply Chain, the Americas' leader in contract logistics within the Group, will also be part of the new partnership, providing key warehousing needs and expertise.

Mobizcorp announced that DAVIDsTEA Inc. has elevated its business with Salesforce Commerce Cloud, an expedited path to unified commerce. For enabling the strong growth of the DAVIDsTEA brand, Mobizcorp was put in charge of designing and implementing Salesforce Commerce Cloud with omnichannel processes to engage with customers online and in-store.

Looker, a leading data platform company, announced that premium burger chain Five Guys JV has implemented Looker to deliver an enhanced customer experience, increase operational efficiency and drive improved sustainability across the business. Looker has opened up access to data across its business from sales, operations and business planning to warehouse management, speeding up access to insights and informed decision-making.

To combat the global tax complexities of selling candy and accessories worldwide, Dylan’s Candy Bar implemented the Avalara tax compliance suite to mitigate risk as the company accelerated growth. Now, across all of its financial and resource planning technologies, Dylan’s Candy Bar relies on Avalara to manage its tax compliance requirements.

Western Union announced a strategic partnership with Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the country, to strengthen its presence in the United States and make it more convenient for consumers to access money transfer services. This agreement enables consumer access to international and domestic money transfer and money order services, as well as bill payment services at any of Albertsons Companies’ 2,300 locations throughout 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Albertsons Companies operates under 20-well known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Acme and United Supermarkets.

First Insight Inc., a global technology company transforming how leading retailers make product investment and pricing decisions, and Marks & Spencer, one of the U.K.’s largest and most iconic retailers, have expanded their partnership.

Barnes & Noble Inc., the world’s largest retail bookseller, will be hosting a LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Train build event at select stores nationwide on Saturday, August 4, at 2 p.m., where customers will have the opportunity to build a mini Hogwarts train that they can take home with them.