Events

It may not rival the FIFA World Cup, but there’s nothing bigger than the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup when it comes to international youth soccer tournaments in the United States.

Now in its 35th year, the recently concluded youth tournament crowned winning teams from throughout the world who competed in eight age classifications. Other big winners at the event were eight U.S.-based community organizations who each received donations of $5,000 in sports gear on behalf of the winning teams.

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market claimed the honor for best brand on Pinterest at the Shorty (the Shorties) Awards on April 7. The Shorties are an annual awards event that honors the best short-form content creators on Twitter and on other social media sites.

Whole Foods Market joined Pinterest in 2011, and currently has 180,000 followers.

Washington, D.C. — Simon Property Group and NRG eVgo (ee-vee-go), a subsidiary of NRG Energy will host an amped-up Earth Day Electric Car Caravan to unveil three new electric car fast-charging Freedom Station sites at St. Charles Towne Center, Bowie Town Center and Queenstown Premium Outlets in Maryland. The caravan will attend ribbon-cutting ceremonies at each center on April 22.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced plans to relocate its full-line Westfield University Towne Center (UTC) department store in San Diego to a new space within the evolving mall.

The new two-level, 145,000-sq.-ft. Nordstrom store will open in 2017 as part of Westfield UTC’s resort-inspired redevelopment, which is adding specialty shops, restaurants, entertainment, sustainable design features and family-friendly amenities, as well as structured parking.

New York -- Bang & Olufsen unveiled its first newly redesigned store concept in North America, at the new Madison Avenue location in New York City. The 1,400-sq.-ft. store is designed to evoke a true sensory experience and demonstrate Bang & Olufsen's commitment to providing extraordinary consumer experiences.  

Other locations in New York City will adopt the new design, as well as a handful of additional locations across the United States next fiscal year.

Bay Shore, N.Y. -- Clarins Fragrance Group has deployed a 6-ft.-high digital projection in three store locations in the United Kingdom to help celebrate the launch of designer’ Thierry Mugler’s new Alien Extraordinaire perfume. The projection, the “Virtual Assistant” from Tensator, features the image of the goddess character used across all launch-branding material.

The National Retail Federation today told a congressional panel that the retail industry is committed to safeguarding and protecting consumer data and information from highly motivated and sophisticated cybercriminals and hackers.

“Retailers make significant investments every year in order to protect [consumer] data,” NRF VP for retail technologies Tom Litchford testified. “Collectively, retailers spend billions of dollars annually to safeguard data and fight fraud, as well as hundreds of millions annually on [credit card security] compliance.”

New York -- Chain Store Age and IFTI will present a free webinar on moisture-related flooring problems on Thursday, April 24, at 2 p.m. ET. Industry expert Lee Eliseian will share insights on the critical role concrete-slab moisture testing plays in preventing flooring failures and offer tips on how to avoid the financial impact and headache of such failures.

Click here for more information and to register.

Chicago - Englewood Construction ‘s food service and restaurant group has completed Harry Caray’s 7th Inning Stretch and the Chicago Sports Museum in Chicago’s Water Tower Place. The national general contractor has also completed a Native Foods Café in Chicago’s Hyde Park and is working with Native Foods Café to roll out its concept nationally.

99 Cents Only recently changed its fiscal year from the Saturday closest to the end of March, to the Friday closest to the end of January, to be in line with its retail industry peers. But during the shortened fiscal year consisting of 44 weeks, from March 31, 2013 to Jan. 31, the company widened its net loss.

Total net sales were $1.53 billion, down 8% from $1.66 billion. Same-store sales rose 3.7%.