Strategy

Lane Bryant is all about changing the conversation regarding plus-size fashion and thanks to the efforts of a dozen design students the retailer is interpreting what that means for shoppers.

Hhgregg's holiday disaster was confirmed Thursday when the struggling retailer officially posted a loss of $26.9 million in its fiscal third quarter.

The company said that for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, net sales decreased 10.9% to $593 million, compared to the prior year third quarter.

A 31% increase in its store count and a host of digital initiatives helped Under Armour achieve stellar fourth quarter and full year results, with 2016 expectations calling for more of the same.

San Antonio, Texas -- X Team International, an international alliance of retail real estate advisors with expertise in more than 45 major markets throughout the U.S. and Canada, announced that it has welcomed San Antonio-based REATA Real Estate as its newest partner.

Highland Village, Texas -- Trademark Property Corp., the operating partner for The Shops at Highland Village located in Highland Village, Texas, announced Torchy’s Tacos has signed a lease for 5,262 sq. ft. at the recently renovated shopping center. In addition, Runway Seven’s flagship store will relocate this spring to a larger space.

Walmart is launching a new open source cloud platform that seems aimed at hurting Amazon Web Services (AWS) as much as helping retailers.

The cloud management and application lifecycle management platform, known as OneOps, has been under development at the @WalmartLabs innovation center for two years. Walmart has used OneOps internally to support efforts such as improving its website and deploying online grocery features.

Johnny Rockets, the franchisor and operator of Johnny Rockets restaurants, has named Susanne Stover as its CFO and member of its executive team. Stover will be reporting directly to CEO Charles Bruce, and will lead and implement strategies to drive growth and a financial infrastructure.

Stover is no stranger to the casual dining segment. She has held leadership positions as the CFO for the Rosa Mexicano restaurant chain and controller at the casual dining restaurant chain California Pizza Kitchen.

For more than 50 years, retail store planning, construction and facilities executives have gathered for the annual SPECS conference to assess key industry challenges and invent the future. That will be the case again this year, as SPECS focuses on the transformation and evolution of physical stores in a digital age.