Strategy

PHILADELPHIA — Urban Outfitters Inc. said its same-stores sales for the holiday season rose 9%, including its direct-to-consumer business. Excluding that unit, same-store sales fell 1%.

Total company net sales for November and December increased 15% to $666 million.

Among Urban Outfitters’ brands, comparable sales increased 33% at Free People, 10% at Urban Outfitters and 5% at Anthropologie. Direct-to-consumer net sales increased by 38% for the period and wholesale segment net sales increased 21%.

Minneapolis -- Target announced plans to open a store in Huntington, N.Y. in October.

To date, Target has announced plans to open 17 Target stores in 2013.

San Francisco -- Gymboree Corp. has hired a second senior-level Gap Inc. executive, naming Gap North America finance VP Evan Price as its new CFO.

Price, who also served as VP of Old Navy, will take over Gymboree’s top finance slot on Jan. 21, joining new CEO Mark Breitbard, former Gap North American division president.

Rockbridge Growth Equity has acquired Triad Retail Media, a 300 person digital retail media agency founded by former Procter & Gamble executive Greg Murtagh.

The acquisition is expected to be transparent to Triad’s retail clients such as Walmart, Sam’s Club, eBay, Toys "R" Us and CVS, but is expected to bring to Triad new capabilities as it benefits from Rockbridge’s ownership interest in other companies.

Conyers, Ga. -- Brixmor Property Group announced a 24,920-sq.-ft. lease was executed with Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts at Conyers Plaza, located in Conyers, Ga.

Brixmor, based in New York City, is the owner of Conyers Plaza.

NEW YORK and ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — Leading global e-commerce marketplace Rakuten Inc. has rebranded Buy.com, which it acquired May 2010, to Rakuten.com Shopping.

Between now and January 30, merchants and consumers will still be able to go to Buy.com to access Rakuten’s U.S. subsidiary. Starting January 31, however, the site url will change to Rakuten.com. Anyone going to Buy.com will be redirected to the new url.

New Hyde Park, N.Y. — In the much-watched deal between Supervalu and a consortium of investors led by Cerberus Capital Management, Kimco Realty Group – along with several other real estate companies — has emerged as a player.

Walmart has committed $670,000 to help fund a first-of-its-kind program in its home state known as the Arkansas Payment Improvement Initiative (APII).