International Business

After reporting standout results for the holiday quarter, Costco had a drop in same store sales in March that the retailer blamed on the earlier-than-normal Easter holiday.

Retailers and consumer goods companies already know that California leads the nation when it comes to burdensome regulatory requirements. Now, the situation could go from bad to worse with enforcement looming of a complex law known as the Transparency in Supply Chains Act.

New York -- Tiger, the Danish discount chain known for its low prices and design emphasis, is entering the United States, opening a 5,000-sq.-ft. flagship in May, in New York City.

Tiger stores offer a quirky, ever-changing selection of exclusive products across a wide variety of categories, including home, toys, hobby, party, snacks, electronics, gadgets, fashion accessories and seasonal. The majority of its products, roughly half of which are designed in house, sell for $10 or less.

San Francisco – Jins Eyewear, Japan’s largest eyewear brand by volume, will open its first U.S. store on April 10, in San Francisco's Union Square neighborhood. The 4,900-sq.-ft. space will house more than 1,200 different styles of Jins exclusive eyewear.

San Francisco – Alibaba.com has collaborated with e-commerce platform to Bigcommerce deliver an integrated shopping experience for sourcing products from Alibaba.com’s network of Chinese wholesale suppliers. The Alibaba.com Wholesale solution is immediately available to Bigcommerce’s 70,000 stores, and online merchants can now access and purchase a collection of more than 30,000 products from about 300 of Alibaba.com’s Gold Suppliers in China with scope to expand to more than three million products from thousands of Gold Suppliers.

Jackson, Miss. – Newk’s Eatery is planning franchise growth in new markets stretching across the South. Expansion will occur in markets including Savannah, Georgia and Orlando, Florida, to Lubbock and Midland-Odessa, Texas, with Washington, D.C, Richmond and Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Oklahoma City in between.

Goleta, Calif. – Deckers Brands has appointed Wendy Yang as Teva brand president, effective May 1. In this role, Yang will design and lead Teva's global brand strategy and report directly to Dave Powers, president of Deckers Brands.  

Walmart is beginning to raise wages for workers in several states as part of its employee initiative for fiscal 2015.

Food has always been an important part of the shopping experience at Ikea, and the retailer is doubling down on that strategy by unveiling a new menu.  

Ikea announced it will be adding more nutritious and sustainable food options to its restaurants, bistros near the checkout, Swedish food markets and co-worker restaurants. The new food strategy highlights how important food is to the chain.

Japanese retailer Uniqlo's U.S. expansion is picking up speed as the company prepares to open its first-ever stores in the Seattle, Denver and Washington, D.C.