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This year has so far been a pretty brutal one when it comes to store closures. Hundreds of retail stores have already shuttered due to everything from cost-cutting to bankruptcies. Major store closures so far in 2025 have included Rite Aid, Forever 21, Joann, Party City, Kohls, and Big Lots. But one major store chain seems to be bucking the trend by opening new locations. That store is the popular grocery chain Trader Joes. Despite some controversies and questionable alleged business practices as reported earlier this year by Fast Company, the chain is still beloved by many diehard adherents. And now it seems like Trader Joes is capitalizing on that popularity by opening at least 22 new stores in the near future. The chain currently has 581 stores spanning 42 states and Washington, D.C., according to USA Today. But soon 13 of those states and D.C. will be adding additional stores. (For context, Chain Store Age reported back in March 2024 that Trader Joe’s had “more than 500” locations.) Heres the full list of Trader Joes new stores that are opening, according to data from the companys opening soon tool on its store locator website. Fast Company reached out to Trader Joe’s to confirm the accuracy of the store locator figure and ask if any additional store openings are being planned. We will update this story if we hear back. Alabama Hoover, AL 35244 California Northridge, CA 91325 Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 (Sherman Oaks 2) Tarzana, CA 91356 Tracy, CA 95304 Yucaipa, CA 92399 Colorado Westminster, CO 80031 Louisiana New Orleans, LA 70119 (Mid-City) Massachusetts Boston, MA 02132 (West Roxbury) Maryland Rockville, MD 20850 (Town Square) New Jersey Iselin, NJ 08830 (Woodbridge) New York Glenmont, NY 12077 Staten Island, NY 10309 (Tottenville) Oklahoma Oklahoma City, OK 73132 (Northwest) Pennsylvania Berwyn, PA 19312 Exton, PA 73132 South Carolina Myrtle Beach, SC 29588 Texas McKinney, TX 75070 (West) San Antonio, TX 78230 (Northwest) Washington Bellingham, WA 98226 (Bellingham – North) Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. 20015 (Friendship Heights) Washington, D.C. 20017 (Brookland) Retail store closures could hit 15,000 in 2025 Despite Trader Joes expansion, America is expected to lose thousands of retail stores in 2025. According to a January report from Coresight Research, the U.S. could see up to 15,000 retail stores close this year. The cost of inflation and the increasing preference of consumers to shop online are reported to be two of the biggest factors influencing retail store closures in 2025. Of course, keep in mind that Coresights report was conducted before President Donald Trump unleashed his tariffs on the world in April. It is likely that the increased cost of importing goods into the United States, which is borne by the retail chains that import the goods, could have a negative economic impact on some of those chains. If that happens, it’s possible that even more retailers might decide to close stores to cut costs. For now, only time will tell.
Category:
E-Commerce
The world’s auto industry is getting a shake-up from Chinese automakers that are quickly expanding across the globe, offering relatively affordable electric vehicles designed to wow car buyers with sleek designs and the latest high-tech interiors.Companies like BYD, Great Wall, Geely, and Chery Automobile are reaching outward as they build the scale they need to survive cutthroat competition in their home market.These generally are not state-run giants like SAIC, BAIC, and Guangzhou Automotive. The founder of Geely started out making refrigerators.BYD first built up its expertise in battery technology, now its biggest advantage as the world’s largest-selling EV maker. Some others are technology companies allied with automakers to offer autonomous driving.Here are some of the key players: Great Wall Motors Great Wall Motors, with the Haval, Wey, Ora, Poer, and Tank brands, is banking on overseas sales to keep growing after seeing its sales inside China fall by nearly 15% last year, even as the company’s net profit jumped more than 80%. The company has factories in Russia, Thailand and Brazil, where it is challenging Toyota’s popular Hilux pickup truck with its GWM Poer, a hybrid pickup of its own. Another mainstay is the Haval H6, a hybrid sports SUV.Great Wall has smoothed its transition to overseas production by buying factories of other automakers. In Thailand, it took over a factory formerly operated by General Motors Corp. In Brazil, it purchased a former Mercedes-Benz plant.“It is essential for volume to be big, otherwise the cost of production is too high,” Great Wall’s chairman, Wei Jianjun, said in a media huddle at the show. Wei, who also goes by the name Jack Wey, was born in Beijing but moved to nearby Hebei, home of the Great Wall. He led the company’s transition from vehicle modification to automaking, becoming China’s biggest maker of pickup trucks and a leading SUV maker. The company has a joint venture for EVs with BMW. Chery State-owned Chery Automobile says it was the first Chinese automaker to export overseas. It has sold more than 15 million of its Chery, Exeed, Omoda, and Jetour models overseas, mostly in the developing world and emerging markets, including Turkey and Ukraine. Chery reported selling 2.6 million vehicles overseas last year and is aiming for 3 million in 2025. It’s quickly expanding overseas production, setting up factories in Russia and Spain. It is expanding rapidly in Latin America.Chery’s tie-up with EV-maker Visionary Vehicles aimed to sell in North America but has not yet achieved that goal. The company has a 50-50 joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover, which is a subsidiary of Tata Motors of India that makes Jaguars and Land Rovers in China. It also collaborates with Huawei Technologies and e-commerce giant Alibaba.Chery still sells far more fuel-engine cars than EVs. Its battery electric vehicle company, Chery New Energy, makes minivehicles like the eQ1, or Small Ant, and the QQ Ice Cream. Its mainstays are the Tiggo lineup of SUVs and its Arrizo sedans. BYD BYD made more electric vehicles last year than Tesla, selling 3.52 million EVs in China, up 28% from a year earlier. Its strength in plug-in hybrids has helped as Chinese increasingly opt for the fallback of a fuel engine.The company, based in southern China’s Shenzhen, recently announced an ultra-fast EV charging system it says can provide a full charge for its latest EVs within five to eight minutes, about as long as a fill-up. It plans to build more than 4,000 of the new charging stations across China.The Chinese company started out making batteries and has been refining its battery and energy storage technology while building an auto empire that is expanding outside China.While BYD’s fanciest, latest premium models are expected to sell for up to about $40,000, it also makes much less expensive EVs including the Seagull, which sells for around $12,000 in China.BYD barely nudged ahead of Tesla in production of battery-powered EVs in 2024, making 1,777,965 compared with Tesla’s 1,773,443. Geely Geely Auto is perhaps the most famous Chinese automaker that many people have never heard of. The privately held company was founded as a refrigerator-maker by businessman Li Shufu in 1997 in eastern China’s Taizhou, which early on became a hub of private industry.Li began making strategic overseas acquisitions early on, buying Sweden’s Volvo Car Co. from Ford Motor in 2010. Geely’s purchase of a 49.9% stake in Malaysia’s Proton gave it a 51% stake in luxury sports car brand Lotus. It formed a 50-50 joint venture to make Smart city cars with Germany’s Daimler AG. It also works with Renault SA of France on powertrains and owns a stake in Aston Martin Lagonda.In March, it launched sales of its Geely EX5 SUVs in Australia and New Zealand, adding to its global reach.Geely also owns New York Stock Exchange-listed Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding, which makes a premium EV brand. Geely and Volvo own Swedish automaker Polestar, which has struggled in the U.S. market. Wuling China’s second-best selling EV brand is Wuling, a joint venture of Shanghai’s SAIC Motor, General Motors and Guangxi Auto. It sold more than 673,000 EVs in China and has a market share of only 6% compared with BYD’s nearly one-third share. Tesla came in third at 659,000 cars sold.Apart from its Baojun sedans and vans, Wuling mainly makes engines, commercial vehicles and special purpose vehicles like mini-EVs and golf carts. Others Other major Chinese brands of EVs include Nio, Xpeng, Li Auto and Leap Motor. State-run giants like Dongfeng Motor Group, which has an alliance with Nissan Motor Corp., and Changan Automobile, a partner with Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp. and with Ford Motor Co., are also quickly expanding EV sales.But the industry is fast-changing and competition in the home market is tough. That’s a key reason why the biggest automakers have focused attention on expanding into global markets. Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer
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E-Commerce
The traditional model of leadership, where a single individual is expected to provide all the answers, is becoming obsolete. In a world of accelerating complexity, hyper-specialization, and rapid change, no leader can single-handedly navigate the full spectrum of challenges facing modern organizations. The future of leadership is about curating the best insights, talent, and ideas, not dictating the direction. The best leaders will be those who act as architects of collaboration, assembling diverse perspectives and fostering an environment where expansive thinking thrives. This shift in leadership isnt just about delegationits about creating conditions for continuous learning, adaptability, and innovation. Leaders who embrace a curation mindset are best equipped to drive organizations forward in an unpredictable world. Why Curation is the New Leadership Superpower In a world overflowing with expertise, no single leader can master every domain. The leaders who thrive are those who: Curate Talent. They dont just hire smart people; they intentionally build diverse teams with complementary skills and perspectives. Studies show that diverse teams outperform homogeneous ones by 39% in problem-solving efficiency. Curate Ideas. They create spaces where unconventional thinking is not only encouraged but strategically leveraged. Googles 20% time policy, which allows employees to spend part of their workweek exploring passion projects, has led to breakthroughs like Gmail and Google Maps. Curate Innovation. They design environments where experimentation, iteration, and cross-disciplinary collaboration drive meaningful breakthroughs. IDEO, a global design consultancy, uses cross-industry ideation sessions to unlock unexpected solutions, from healthcare innovation to urban design. Rather than positioning themselves as the ultimate expert, these leaders act as orchestrators, ensuring that the right voices are heard at the right moments. How Leaders Can Adopt a Curation Mindset The shift from traditional leadership to curation requires intentional practices. Heres how leaders can start: Seek Out Outliers.Conventional wisdom often leads to conventional results. The best leaders actively engage with voices outside their immediate circlescontrarians, industry outsiders, and emerging thinkers who challenge the status quo. For instance, Netflixs early decision to pivot from DVD rentals to streaming came from its leaderships ability to absorb trends from tech, media, and consumer behavior research. Design for Collaboration, Not Just Efficiency.Many organizations optimize for productivity at the cost of creative collision. Leaders must create structured serendipity, allowing ideas from different disciplines to intersect in unexpected ways. Pixars open office architecture, where animators, writers, and tech teams share communal spaces, has fostered storytelling innovation. Facilitate, Dont Dictate.Instead of being the sole decision-maker, adopt a facilitators mindsetguiding discussions, posing better questions, and allowing collective intelligence to emerge. Jeff Bezoss Disagree and Commit principle at Amazon encourages debate, ensuring that the team moves forward with informed risk-taking even if consensus isn’t reached. Champion Psychological Safety.The best ideas often come from environments where individuals feel safe to challenge, experiment, and even fail. Research from Googles Project Aristotle found that psychological safety was the top predictor of high-performing teams. Unlocking Cross-Disciplinary Breakthroughs Historys most significant breakthroughs didnt come from isolated silos but from cross-disciplinary collisionswhere physics met art, where biology informed engineering, and where technology reshaped storytelling. Here are a few inspiring examples: NASA & The Sports Industry: NASAs space suit advancements have directly influenced sportswear technology, improving gear used by Olympians. Bioengineering & Architecture: The Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe was designed using biomimicry principles based on termite mounds, leading to a 90% reduction in cooling costs compared to conventional buildings. AI & Music Composition: IBMs Watson has been used to compose symphonies, merging artificial intelligence with classical music expertise to create never-before-heard compositions. Organizations that embrace curation-minded leadership will be better equipped to solve complex, multidimensional challenges. The organizations that thrive in the future will not be those with leaders who know the mostit will be those led by individuals who know how to bring the right minds together to figure things out. The ability to curate talent, ideas, and innovation will define the next generation of transformational leadership. So, as you reflect on your own leadership approach, ask yourself: Are you accumulating knowledge, or are you assembling the right people and perspectives to unlock something greater? The future belongs to curators. Are you ready to lead like one?
Category:
E-Commerce
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