The question is already answered but I need it reviewed and updated with current data (2016 or 2017). And current referenced articles.

The questions I have answered are as followed

1. What are the trends in the number of competitors and their size, product innovation, distribution, finances, regulation, and product liability?

2. What is its history of product development?

What are the trends in the number of competitors and their size, product innovation, distribution, finances, regulation, and product liability? The retail industry has gone through several changes in climate over the years. Many retailers have begun to take on a great deal of online sales more than traditional brick and mortar sales. The retail industry has seen many changes over the decades. Most of the changes have been due to economic recessions and rocky consumer confidence in the past. Some retailers have decided to no longer report monthly sales results such as Kohl's, Macy's and Nordstrom (Zacks Equity Research, 2013). The trend amongst retailers in 2017 has been utilizing more technology solutions and customer feedback to drive the direction of the retail industry. For example, Macy's saw a sales growth of 47.7% for their fourth quarter online sales in 2016 (Russell, 2016). Retail giant JC Penny has begun to reevaluate its operations to create sales growth. Management implemented new company logo, cost reduction and new pricing strategies to enhance the company's image and growth potential. As of 2015, JC Penny was ranked 250 on the Fortune 500. Kohl's was ranked 157 and Macy's was ranked 105 on the Fortune 500 in 2016. The retail industry reported more than 4.7 trillion in total sales for 2016. This was the largest increase in sales since 1999 (Farfan, 2011). The U.S. has more than 5 of the top retailers in the world; with Wal-Mart being the largest retailer in the world. The industry is segmented into hard retailers and soft retailers. Hard retailers are considered appliances, electronics and furniture for example. Soft retailers often sell clothing and apparel (N.A., 2013a). Kohl's, JC Penny and Belk all fall under soft retailers. Also there are store retailers and non-store retailers. Store retailers have displays that attract customers to make purchases on site. Retailers such as vending machines and e-commerce are labeled as non-store retailers. Many store retailers have crossed into both sides of retailing. Two-thirds of the United States GDP comes from the retail industry (Brown & Grannis, 2013). The industry was affected tremendously by the recession in 2007. The recession affected the industry for nearly two years before beginning a recovery process. Many of the larger retailers are in the process of recovering and reporting pre-recession sales. Furthermore, the National Retail Federation expects a 3.4% increase in retail sales across the industry for 2013. They forecast a 9 to 12% increase in online retail sales for 2013 (Brown & Grannis, 2013). This agrees with the trends that online retail is growing rapidly. The industry has seen a great deal of their sales coming from the non-traditional method of sales. The retail online sales grew 11% in the months of November and December. The retail store industry has 38 firms and 16.85% growth rate as of January 2013 (Damodaran, 2013). Consumer spending and economic conditions affect the retail industry profitability. Consumer spending affected the industry during the economic recession and drove many retailers' profits down. This affected retailers and they began to use creative ways to increase consumer spending. Consumer confidence has been down over the years and this has affected the retail industry sector. Also technology trends have affected the retail industry and retailers' have used strategic ways to utilize technology into their business. The National Retail Federation has stated that \"Stores spend $34.5 billion a year on all kinds of technology, from the cables and routers behindthe-scenes, to in-store devices such as price checkers, self-service checkout stations and electronic kiosks for customers\" (Aversa, 2007). For example, retailers such as JC Penny have begun to use the iPhone during checkout at the sales counter. Consumers use this as the new signature pad when completing debit and credit sales. The retail industry has several regulations depending upon the state that the retail store operates. At the moment nineteen states and two territories have regulations in place for unit pricing. Also eight states currently have mandatory item pricing regulations. Some of the states included are New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Massachusetts (Sefcik, 2013). Analysts' breakdown many retail stores performance by analyzing their inventory turnover and sales per square feet. Many of the larger retail store chains such as Macys have a large inventory turnover and a great deal of sales per square feet. Kohl's as of 2012 had an average of $190 per square feet in sales and JC Penny had an average of $155 per square feet in sales (N.A., 2013a). Kohl's had one of the best sales per square feet amongst their competitors. Some of their competitors are Nordstrom, Macy's, JC Penny, and Dillard's. Dillard's posted the lowest amount of sales per square feet amongst the group of competitors. What is its history of product development? Kohls 1.1.1 Product Development Since the late 80s, Kohl's Corporation has been gradually crafting their business into a profitable art form. Over the last 2.5 decades Kohl's department stores have refined the product offerings and removed the excess products that were weighing the operations of the corporation down. In the beginning, Kohl's department stores had a wide variety of offerings. In today's stores, Kohl's has limited their product offerings to six areas including clothing for women (31%), men (19%), and children (13%), accessories (10%), home (18%), and footwear (9%) (Kohl's Corporation, 2013a). To offer the widest possible variety of products with price points to meet every family's needs, Kohl's employs the use of private, national, and exclusive brands. The private label brands provide Kohl's with the opportunity to compare with national and exclusive brands on the price point aspect while earning a higher profit off of the individual sale. Kohl's attracts certain consumers by carrying exclusive brands such as Jennifer Lopez, Rock & Republic, and Food Network (Kohl's Corporation, 2013d). Kohl's has been able to identify three different lifestyles and three different price points for its consumer base for which they have constructed \"Nine-Box Merchandising Grid\" as seen in 12.1.8 of the Appendix (Kohl's Corporation, 2013d). JC PENNEY 1 Product Development In the 1960s J.C. Penney expanded outside of clothing and fabrics and started selling appliances, sporting goods, garden merchandise, restaurants, and auto parts. The company also expanded into services like portrait studios and auto centers. In 1963 J.C. Penney issued its first catalog distributed by the Milwaukee Catalog distribution center. In 1969, the company acquired Thrift Drug (rebranded Eckerd in 1997) and Supermarkets Interstate, thus starting its ventures into drugstores, pharmaceuticals, and as a food retailer. Its foray into the auto industry was short lived however; in 1983 J.C. Penney phased out its hardware and auto departments and sold its auto repair shops to Firestone (Wikipedia, 2013). In 1984 J.C. Penney acquired the First National Bank and began issuing its own MasterCard and Visa cards. In 1993 J.C. Penney became the largest catalog retailer in the United States when Sears closed its catalog business. In 2004 J.C. Penney exited the drug store and pharmaceutical division with the sale of Eckerd. In 2007 J.C. Penney launched its own lingerie label, Ambrielle, and partnered with Sephora, a cosmetics company, to set up \"stores-within-astore\" inside some J.C. Penney locations. The catalog business remained strong until January 2011, when J.C. Penney announced it would be phasing out of catalogs in favor of furthering its online business (Wikipedia, 2013). Since its opening, J.C. Penney has established 1,104 department stores in 49 states and Puerto Rico as of February 2013