Jacksonville, Fla. — Winn-Dixie is expanding its popular in-store Amazon return kiosks to 68 additional locations across 23 Florida counties, giving even more customers a convenient, hassle-free way to return Amazon packages while they shop for groceries. The expansion builds on the successful pilot launch of Amazon return kiosks at 20 Winn-Dixie stores across the greater Jacksonville area, including in Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties. It also reinforces Winn-Dixie’s ongoing commitment to delivering convenience and value while strengthening its collaboration with Amazon. “We’ve seen incredible enthusiasm from customers …
software/technology
— By Etrit Demaj — Smart tech rewrites the retail maintenance playbook. Retail and restaurant operators have long accepted reactive maintenance as the cost of doing business. When equipment breaks, facility teams respond, often at high cost and with little warning. But this break-fix cycle no longer works in today’s environment of shrinking margins, energy mandates and rising customer expectations. A growing number of multi-site operators are shifting to a proactive, tech-enabled maintenance model that prevents problems, instead of waiting for them to arise. This approach turns building systems into …
Planon Appoints Chief Revenue Officer for Facilities and Field Services
Nijmegen, the Netherlands — Planon, a leading global provider of smart sustainable building management software, has appointed Sylvain Lamy as chief revenue officer (CRO) for facilities and field services, joining the company’s executive management team. In this position, Lamy will lead Planon’s global commercial organization for the facilities and field services business lines, driving sales, services and partner growth worldwide. “Sylvain brings a strong track record in scaling enterprise software businesses and leading high-performing international teams,” says Peter Ankerstjerne, CEO of Planon. “His commercial acumen and customer-centric mindset will be …
The Big Chill
— By Ramez Naguib — Exploring the benefits of glycol chillers in restaurants. Glycol chillers are specialized refrigeration systems and often involve the use of antifreeze. A popular application is in beverage production, wherein the food grade chemical propylene glycol is used.i Glycol is not a refrigerant; instead, it is a fluid that is used to carry heat from one location to another in much the same way as a conventional refrigerant does. But, unlike a refrigerant, glycol does not undergo a state change (from a liquid to a gas, …
Costa Mesa, Calif. — Sweetgreen, a mission-driven restaurant brand serving healthy food at scale, will open its first-ever Infinite Kitchen sweetlane location in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Nov. 18. The new restaurant marks an evolution in Sweetgreen’s reimagining of fast food — blending its in-store hospitality with the efficiency of its Infinite Kitchen technology and the added convenience of a drive-up sweetlane for digital customers. First introduced as a pilot concept in 2022, the sweetlane was designed to offer a seamless pickup experience for digital orders. With more than a …
— By Scott Thomas — Improving security and the customer experience. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been discussed in the physical security industry for years and offers strong potential for retail security automation and management. It may be surprising to discover that many retailers already use some form of AI in their security technologies. Analytics engines process massive amounts of data, such as images, text or numbers — using AI algorithms to produce actionable insights. For example, analytics can automatically flag vehicles linked to previous incidents upon arrival and streamline the …
Murray, Utah — Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc., owner of Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock, buybuy BABY and a blockchain asset portfolio, has appointed Rick Lockton as executive vice president and chief digital, product and technology officer. In his new role, Lockton will lead all digital, AI, product and technology functions, advancing Bed Bath & Beyond’s position as a leader in retail innovation and home technology. Effective Nov. 3, 2025, Lockton will join the executive leadership team to lead the company’s digital transformation and product innovation strategy. He will oversee …
San Antonio — Rackspace Technology®, a leading end-to-end hybrid cloud and AI solutions company, has teamed up with Total Wine & More, America’s Wine Superstore® to advance its digital transformation through a strategic, multi-cloud approach. The retailer adopted two public cloud platforms, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, selecting the best cloud for each of its major technology initiatives. It chose Rackspace to provide flexible, managed support and gained valuable cloud optimization expertise. “We needed a partner who could support our multi-cloud strategy and provide consistent, expert guidance across both Azure …
San Francisco and Sunnyvale, Calif. — Gap Inc. has formed a multi-year partnership with Google Cloud to accelerate its human-centered digitally-enabled technology strategy, with AI powering the company’s plans to reimagine retail across its portfolio of brands, including Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta. “AI is redefining what’s possible in retail, and we’re building our future technology roadmap around it,” says Sven Gerjets, chief technology officer at Gap Inc. “We believe this partnership gives us the expertise and speed to bring AI to life across our business, empowering teams, …
— By Sandeep Ahuja — Turning vacant big box stores into assets with AI. Redeveloping these stores has always been costly and slow. AI is starting to change that by giving owners and developers faster ways to rethink these large spaces and plan for their next chapter. Big box vacancies can quickly erode the value of an entire shopping center. With AI, owners no longer have to rely on guesswork about what comes next. In one Florida redevelopment, analysis showed how an empty 82,000-square-foot anchor could be repositioned to generate …