Events

In recent years, the retail industry’s view of technology has expanded from something only the IT department needs to be concerned about to something that other departments, such as marketing and finance, also share an active interest in. But as demonstrated by the speakers lined up for the March 11 Tech Boot Camps at this week’s SPECS conference in Dallas, technology is also a concern of operational departments such as store planning, energy management, construction management, and real estate.

Secure the Perimeter

Belk is gearing up for its bi-annual Kidfest in-store event Saturday, March 29, from noon–3 p.m. at all locations.

It's an innovative way for the Charlotte, N.C.-based department store, which operates 299 locations in 16 Southern states, generate customer traffic, not to mention buzz among shoppers as moms talk about their kids being in the show.

Washington, D.C. -- Import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 12.4% in March 2014 as retailers begin to stock up for the spring and the summer season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.

Columbus, Ohio — Lane Bryant has opened a new store at The Shops at Pembroke Gardens, a lifestyle center in Pembroke Pines, Fla.

The grand opening celebration will take place March 7 – 9. Lane Bryant, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ascena Retail Group, owns and operates 805 stores nationwide.
 

According to reports, eBay is urging shareholders to reject a slate of board members nominated by activist investor Carl Icahn and instead support nominees picked by the company.

Reuters has reported that eBay is asking shareholders to re-elect existing directors CEO John Donahoe, company co-founder and managing director Fred Anderson, Intuit co-founder Scott Cook and former Agilent Technologies CEO Edward Barnholt.

Seattle - Starbucks Coffee Company and the Disneyland Resort will open a new company-owned Starbucks location at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, Calif. This store will be the first of four to be operated by Starbucks across Disney properties in the U.S.

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) calculated retail employment was down 6,700 in February 2014, yet up 205,500 year-over-year. The biggest job losses were seen in electronics and appliance stores, and sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores.

New York – Foot Locker Inc. increased net income 16% to $121 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 from the same period the prior year. Net sales grew 5% to $1.79 billion, from $1.71 billion.

Same-store sales for the quarter grew 5.3%. Looking ahead, the retailer expects to improve same-store sales in the mid-single digits and improve earnings per share by a double-digit percentage in fiscal 2014. Fourth quarter sales and earnings results both beat Wall Street estimates.