Lowe's

Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft said Wednesday that Lowe's Home Improvement is engaging its services to help improve customer service. The retailer will implement Microsoft Office 365 across more than 1,745 stores, 200,000 employees and its corporate offices in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Office 365 will help Lowe’s improve customer service by providing collaboration tools to increase communication among its stores and employees.

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe’s Home Improvement said Tuesday that its home improvement app is now available for Android devices.

The app can be downloaded at Google Play, Google's new online store for digital media. Customers now may shop directly from the free app; access their MyLowe’s account; locate stores and view how-to videos, inspirational galleries and product ratings.

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Ace Hardware ranked highest in customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Home Improvement Retailer Store Satisfaction Study. Ace has taken the top spot ever since J.D. Powers began researching the home improvement category six years ago.

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- Oracle announced that it has taken another step toward helping companies handle peak online volumes of traffic and transactions with the news that its ATG Web Commerce platform has improved performance by 300% on Oracle Exalogic and the Oracle Exadata database machine when compared with systems similar in size and configuration.

The performance gains were achieved during multiple benchmarking tests.

Bayonne, N.J. -- Inland Real Estate Acquisitions announced it has acquired Bayonne Crossing, a 356,647-sq.-ft. shopping center in Bayonne, N.J., for approximately $75.2 million.

Located just off the Hudson River and across from Manhattan, the acquisition includes a 91,109-sq.-ft. Wal-Mart Urban Store and a 146,583-sq.-ft. Lowe’s Home Improvement, both anchor tenants on ground leases purchased by Inland Real Estate Acquisitions.

Pottsville, Pa. -- North Plainfield, N.J.-based Levin Management Corp. announced that Michaels Stores has leased 22,000 sq. ft. at Fairlane Village Mall in Pottsville, Pa.

Levin is the leasing and management agent for the property, which is owned by Ashok Mehra. Michaels’ commitment comes on the heels of a lease by Kohl’s Department Stores, reflecting momentum for the 405,000-sq.-ft. property.

Kohl’s will be opening its new 57,860-sq.-ft. store in early March.

Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel was elected chairman of the board of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).

Steinhafel previously served as the board’s vice chairman and in his new capacity succeeds former RILA board chairman Bill Rhodes, chairman, president and CEO of AutoZone. 

San Jose, Calif. -- Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corp. announced that its spin-off from Sears Holdings Corporation was completed at 11:59 p.m. EST on December 30, 2011. Trading of Orchard’s Class A Common Stock will begin Tuesday on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “OSH”.