Corporate Governance

Fort Worth, Texas -- Pier I on Wednesday reported income and sales that missed Wall Street forecasts. The retailer also detailed its online growth and omnichannel investments.
 
Pier I posted net income of $9.2 million for the second quarter ended August 30, 2014, down $17.8 million from the year ago period, amid continued investments in omnichannel growth and increased fulfillment costs.

Washington, D.C. -- Site and market challenges, underwriting challenges, and operational challenges are the key factors that hamper retail development in some lower-income communities, according to a report from the Urban Land Institute.

The report, Retail in Underserved Communities, defines underserved communities as those that fall into one or more of four categories: urban locations lacking businesses, underserviced markets, locations without cultural offerings, and isolated rural or small towns.

West Sacramento, Calif. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Partnership announced that Raley’s Family of Fine Stores received a GreenChill 2013 Achievement Award for extraordinary leadership and initiative in achieving the Partnership’s mission to better protect the Earth’s ozone layer and reduce the impact on climate change through innovative refrigeration systems.

Dublin, Calif. --  dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc. will open a new store in Dallas on Sept. 27.  The store is located at Skillman Abrams Crossing in North Dallas. 

Including this new location, dd’s DISCOUNTS will operate approximately 150 locations in 13 states. The company is on schedule to complete its expansion plan to open approximately 20 locations in 2014.

Plug and Play, a business accelerator that specializes in tech startups, is holding its quarterly pitch competition event on its campus in Sunnyvale, California, on Thursday, September 18, from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. PDT. The Plug and Play Fall Expo 2014 will feature 40-plus startup pitches, panel discussions and corporate networking. Chain Store Age will be in attendance — watch for a recap in the next edition of Customer Disruption!

By David Ashen, dash design

Lately you can't turn on the television or pick up the newspaper without seeing a story about Millennials, also known as Generation Y. People are endlessly fascinated by their traits, values, work habits and shopping patterns. Why all of this focus on the group of people born between the early 1980's and 2000's?

New York -- Amazon and the U.K.-based mobile payments company, Bango, have teamed up with Germany’s Telefónica Deutschland to deliver carrier billing services on Telefónica’s network in Germany.  The service will allow people who buy paid apps and make in-app purchases through Amazon’s appstore to charge that directly to their phone bills.

The service will be deployed gradually through next year on certain Amazon mobile applications running on Telefónica devices in Germany.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Department Stores anticipates hiring more than 67,000 associates nationwide this holiday season to support in-store and online holiday business.

Kohl’s plans on hiring an average of 50 associates per store at its 1,163 stores in 49 states. In addition, the company anticipates hiring approximately 9,300 seasonal positions at distribution centers across the country and approximately 670 seasonal credit operations positions.


 

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Home furnishings retailer West Elm will make its Michigan debut when it opens a store in downtown Birmingham, on Oct. 2.

The 15,000-sq.-ft. plus store will feature a curated selection of products made in Michigan, part of West Elm’s Local initiative. The initiative, launched this year, taps into local entrepreneurship by empowering the teams in West Elm stores to find area makers and designers, building and nurturing a creative network that celebrates craftspeople and differentiates the brand with regional assortments.  

Chicago -- GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance (CDF) announced it has significantly expanded its inventory financing program with MarineMax, and extended its duration through 2017.

The $235 million facility will allow the company to expand its stocking plans from leading manufacturers in the industry.