Strategy

SAN FRANCISCO — Williams-Sonoma Inc. said Thursday it has cut its fiscal Q4 earnings outlook below Wall Street expectations due to heavy holiday promotions levels.

The company said it had to offer discounts to entice shoppers this holiday season. Although earnings guidance has been reduced to below expectations, Williams-Sonoma’s revenue outlook remains in line with Wall Street, trimmed to a range of $1.24 billion to $1.26 billion. The company had previously expected revenue as high as $1.27 billion.

Pompano Beach, Fla. -- Brixmor Property Group announced Thursday that Party City will open an 11,957-sq.-ft. store at Shopper's Haven Shopping Center, located in Pompano Beach, Fla.

New York City-based Brixmor is the owner of Shopper's Haven Shopping Center.

NEW YORK — Kohl's is the recipient of the People’s Pick award in The Harris Poll Customer Relationship Series, conducted by Harris Interactive. The award cognizes the strength of consumers' bonds with mid-tier department stores and reflects the customers' connections and future intentions.

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples said Thursday it has appointed Kirk Saville as VP global communications, charged with overseeing Staples’ internal and corporate communications, marketing, public relations, community relations and corporate events.

Saville, who joins Staples from The Hershey Co. where he was VP corporate communications, will report to Steve Fund, Staples senior VP global marketing.
 

Redwood City, Calif. -- More than half of retailers still use passwords for point-of-sale system login, despite concerns over the sharing and misuse of those passwords, according to a survey by DigitalPersona, a global provider of strong authentication and access management solutions. The survey also revealed that of those companies considering a change to new login methods, nearly 70% are considering a switch to biometric authentication.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates said import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports should be nearly flat during January compared with the same month last year, but significant year-over-year increases are expected this spring.

Brussels -- Belgian supermarket operator Delhaize Group, which operates the Food Lion, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys, Hannaford Supermarkets, Reid's and Sweetbay regional banners in the United States, said Thursday it will close 113 Food Lion stores and eliminate the Bloom banner as part of a reorganization. The Fool Lion stores slated for closure are primarily in markets in which the company has the least store density.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. confirmed Thursday that it plans to install Apple mini-boutiques in some of its stores this year. The concept will be tested in 25 locations, and feature a wider assortment of Apple products than is currently available at Target, according to Bloomberg.