Strategy

Google is reportedly looking to beef up its professional apps offering by purchasing a well-known provider of hosted online retail services. According to Re/Code, Google is considering purchasing Shopify. The Canadian provider of cloud-based e-commerce tools is a public company valued at $2.25 billion. [Re/Code]

Destination XL Group is seeing strong same store sales growth from its stores branded as DXL as it continues to shift away from the smaller footprint Casual Male concept.

Destination XL Group, which bills itself as the largest omnichannel specialty retailer of big and tall men's apparel, said its total same store sales increased 3.1%, but its 137 DXL stores open for more than 13 months grew comps 8.9%.

Ross Dress for Less opened a new store in O’Fallon, Missouri on March 5.

The 25,000-sq.-ft. store is located at the O’Fallon Walk Shopping Center, 30 miles west of downtown St. Louis along Interstate 70 between Lake St. Louis and St. Peters, on the southwest corner of Highway K and Feise Road.

The opening is part of the retailer’s 2016 expansion program, totaling about 70 new locations during the year.

More powerful than a smartphone and more portable than a laptop, tablet computers offer retail design and construction professionals some unique opportunities.

In a session at Chain Store Age’s SPECS 2016 conference at Hilton Anatole in Dallas, March 13-15, “Tablets Unlocked,” Bart Waldeck, CMO and senior VP of product strategy for Tango, identified the top five opportunities tablets offer the store development process.

The combination of an unspecified number of new stores, e-commerce and same store sales growth will enable Guess Inc., to surpass annual sales of $3 billion in three years, according to new CEO Victor Herrero.

Guess ended its most recent fiscal year with total sales of roughly $2.2 billion, but CEO Victor Herrero, who joined the company last July from Inditex, believes the company can add $800 million in worldwide volume in the next three years, despite sales and profit declines last year.

Ross Dress for Less opened a new store North El Centro, California on March 5. The opening is part of the retailer’s 2016 expansion program, totaling about 70 new locations during the year.

The 26,000- sq.-ft. store is located at Centro Commons, 11 miles north of the California-Mexico border, at the intersection of Imperial Avenue and Cruickshank Drive. With this location, Ross operates 277 stores in California, its largest state.

March promises to be a busy month for Shopko.

The retailer will open 10 Shopko Hometown stores in late March, bringing its total number of stores opened this year so far to 12.

The company plans to continue to accelerate the expansion of its Hometown format with additional locations through 2017. Developed over the past five years to augment Shopko’s larger store model, the concept is focused on serving the needs of smaller rural communities. Stores average 15,000 sq. ft. to 35,000 sq. ft.

Leading off-price apparel retailer Ross Stores has named long time merchant Bernie Brautigan to the role of president of merchandising.

Brautigan previously served as Ross Stores’ group executive vice president of merchandising since 2014. He will continue to report to Ross CEO Barbara Rentler in his new role and be responsible for the ladies apparel businesses, children's, shoes, and accessories.