Seasonal

Chicago – Ulta Beauty, in partnership with Thanx Media has implemented Oracle Endeca Site Search and Experience Manager solutions. Oracle Endeca has replaced a third-party search solution, now tightly integrating the browse and search navigation.

Santa Cruz, Calif. - Sixty-six percent of retailers attending the recent Big Data & Analytics for Retail Summit believe the number one way to ensure a successful holiday season is to understand customer behavior to drive sales and build loyalty. Moreover, data from business analytics provider Looker shows that four-in-10 retailers feel they are still ineffective when it comes to using data to improve business performance.

Just how often does Amazon change prices throughout the day? And when do other leading retailers adjust their prices? Price intelligence and optimization leader 360pi is out with a new report that answers those questions and sheds lights on some surprising pricing tactics at top retailers.

The report, titled “When Should You Change Your Prices,” explores the phenomenon of pricing dynamism at leading retailers and assesses its effectiveness. What 360pi discovered is that the level of price dynamism can vary dramatically across retailers.

Leading women’s specialty apparel retailer Lane Bryant is kicking off football season with an exclusive NFL Capsule Collection.

The brand’s NFL Capsule Collection will feature several styles, including tank tops, scoop and V-neck tee shirts, and the teams include the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers.

The stakes will be high for every retailer during the upcoming holiday season, but none more so than RadioShack where a stellar fourth quarter could help the company avert a gloomy scenario outlined by Moody’s Investors Service.

The rating agency suggested in a report released July 29 that RadioShack has adequate liquidity to see it through this year, but noted that 2015 could be a different matter.

Brooklyn, N.Y. - Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC), owner and developer of Westchester’s Ridge Hill, will host DreamPlace, an interactive Santa adventure. DreamWorks Animation has chosen Westchester’s Ridge Hill as one of just seven locations around the country, and the only one in the Northeast during the 2014 holiday season.

WTI expects August 2014 temperatures to trend similar to last year for the U.S. as a whole. Much of the East will trend warmer than last year with the Southeast also trending warmer than normal. Summer clearance promotions will see the biggest returns during the first three weeks of the retail month in the eastern half of the nation. A sharp change to colder weather at the end of the month in the North will be more favorable for back-to-school and autumn categories. Precipitation will be greater than last year across the Plains for the month overall.

DreamWorks Animation makes its official foray into the retail space with the launch of DreamPlace, a state-of-the-art reimagining of the holiday retail experience slated to be unveiled at select GGP and Forest malls this holiday season.

DreamPlace is a 2,000-sq.-ft. holiday cottage and combines the latest technology with magical storytelling from creative minds behind such hit franchises as Shrek, Madagascar and How to Train Your Dragon. DreamPlace reimagines one of the signature moments of childhood – meeting Santa Claus.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Sam’s Club has purchased an approximately 13-acre parcel to build its new store at Village at the Peaks in Longmont, Colorado. Sam’s Club plans to build a new 136,000-sq.-ft. store to anchor the northernmost location in the project.

The 480,000-sq.-ft. Village at the Peaks is being developed by NewMark Merrill Mountain States and is scheduled to open in late 2015. Other key anchors Whole Foods, Gold’s Gym and a state-of-the-art Regal Cinema.

St. Louis – Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. reduced its net loss to $4.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014 from $6.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2013.

Consolidated net sales fell 7.7% to $75.4 million, from $80.4 million. Consolidated same-store sales dropped 4.9%.

Build-A-Bear cited the net closure of 10 stores from the prior year as helping to reduce revenues. CEO Sharon John said the company is poised for a strong second half of the fiscal year.