Retail

Rapid expansion of Nordstrom Rack stores and strong sales at the off price division enabled the department store retailer to exceed its fourth quarter profit forecast.

The company said same store sales at Rack increased 3.6% on top of a price year increase of 7.1% while sales at full line stores declined 3.3% after increasing 2.2% last year.

Vancouver, Canada – Lululemon Athletica Inc. is reportedly ending its ban on customers who have resold its goods on sites such as EBay and Amazon.com from purchasing items on its e-commerce site. According to Bloomberg, Lululemon instituted the policy to stop consumers from purchasing and reselling merchandise in bulk, but is rescinding it after a large volume of customer complaints.

One of the bright spots in Walmart’s otherwise dismal fourth quarter was an online business that grew 30% to $10 billion and is forecast to exceed $13 billion this year.

Every executive participating in the company’s prerecorded earnings call Thursday morning spoke in some form or fashion about key digital initiatives and Walmart’s unique capabilities in the area of e-commerce. For example, Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon sees an environment in which the company has the potential to create transformative growth in global e-commerce and mobile commerce.

Toronto - Loblaw Companies Ltd. and its affiliates, the owners of Joe Fresh, have signed three separate partnership agreements that bring the brand into 23 new countries. The agreements cover markets in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and South Korea.

Newport Beach, Calif. -- Engaged Capital, an investment firm specializing in small and mid-cap North American equities and stockholder of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., has named five nominees for the Abercrombie & Fitch board of directors. The nominees are Alexander P. Brick, former CEO of Specialty Retail Group; Robert D. Huth, former CEO of David’s Bridal; Michael W. Kramer, former COO of J.C. Penney; Diane L. Neal, former CEO of Bath & Body Works; and Glenn W. Welling, CIO and managing member of Engaged Capital.

More Americans this year are expected to put their tax returns in the bank. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF)’s Tax Returns Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, 46% of those expecting a refund this year will put their money into savings, up from 44% last year and the highest percent in the survey’s history.

New York — Retail developer Edens has selected four finalists for its annual Retail Challenge, a nation-wide student competition for the most compelling new retail concept. The announcement of the winner kicks off this year’s smART: The Art of Retail conference.

Both the Edens Retail Challenge and smART aspire to incubate new ideas, share knowledge and identify the next generation of industry thought leaders.

New York -- Walgreens will provide a first-hand look at its net zero-energy store during Chain Store Age’s 50th annual SPECS Conference, which will be held March 9 -12, in Grapevine, Texas.