Shuttered: Sears Holdings says it’s shuttering 46 more stores in November, CNBC reports. The closing locations are spread across the U.S., and include the Sears on Hammond Square Drive in Hammond. Sears is still testing new concepts, like stand-alone mattress stores and combined Sears and Kmart locations, but retail analysts say it will be hard for the company to bounce back from its dire situation. Sears shares have fallen more than 85%over the past year. Read the full story for the full list of closures.
With room?: IBM has secured a patent for a coffee drone that not only flies around public spaces to deliver cups of brew but also predicts which people need caffeine pick-me-ups, USA Today reports. According to paperwork filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the device could be used in an office, cafe or event setting, where a preordered cup of joe would be delivered to the drinker or where a thirsty individual would flag it down. Facial- or voice-recognition software, an electronic ID tag or Bluetooth from a person’s smartphone ensures the coffee gets to the right person. Read the full story.
Paper it is: The nation’s largest grocery chain will be plastic-bag free at all of its nearly 2,800 stores by 2025. Kroger Co., which orders about 6 billion bags each year, will begin phasing out their use immediately at one of its chains based in Seattle, a city that has been proactive on reducing plastic use. The company, based in Cincinnati, operates 2,779 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia, serving almost 9 million people daily through two dozen different grocery chains. Read the full story.
