Events

New York -- For the second consecutive year, Chain Store Age will select 10 individuals in retail real estate as “retail stars;” all will be featured in the April/May 2014 issue with bonus distribution to the International Council of Shopping Centers’ RECon show in Las Vegas in May.

The award recognizes people under the age of 40 who are making an impact in retail real estate – whether from the tenant (retail) or the landlord (shopping center company) side.

At a press conference this week, the National Retail Federation called for widespread adoption of chip-and-PIN payment card technology by U.S. retailers and their partners.

“The chip validates that it’s the real card,” said Tom Litchford, VP retail technologies for NRF. “The PIN provides two levels of validation.”

Reston, Va. -- comScore promoted president Serge Matta to the role of CEO as the digital measurement firm swung to a profit in the fourth quarter.

Matta fills the position occupied by Dr. Magid Abraham who, along with Gian Fulgoni, co-founded the company. Abraham will relinquish the CEO role and serve as executive chairman of the board of directors, assuming a position currently held by Fulgoni who will become chairman emeritus. All appointments are effective March 1.

Washington, D.C. - The Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA), a trade association of closed loop gift card retailers committed to promoting and protecting the use of gift cards, has appointed Mary Donovan, account director Kellen Company as the new executive director. Kellen Company has been named the association's management firm.

In addition, the RGCA has named Nicole Willis of Groupon and Erin Wood of Subway to the board of directors. They will be filling vacant board positions left by their respective companies.

Philadelphia – Urban Outfitters reported substantial gains in net sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014. Total company sales in the quarter increased 6% to $906 million, less than Wall Street expected, from $856.8 million in the year-ago period.

Same-store retail segment net sales, which include the direct-to-consumer channel, increased 1%. Same-store retail segment net sales increased 20% at Free People and 10% at Anthropologie and decreased 9% at Urban Outfitters. Wholesale segment net sales rose 24%.

Los Angeles – The “Dumb Starbucks” parody store which opened in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 8 has been revealed to be a prank for a Comedy Central TV show. According to the Associated Press, comedian Nathan Fielder made a public announcement on Feb. 10 that he opened the store for use in his TV show “Nathan for You.”

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) is applauding a decision by the Treasury and IRS to delay implementation of some employer requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) until 2015 and eliminate other requirements for small businesses.

Washington, D.C. -- Import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to drop 8.4% in February from the same time last year as the shipping cycle reaches its slowest month of the year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.