Retail

Hoffman Estates, Ill. - Sears Holdings Corporation anticipates hiring 6,500 veterans and military spouses in 2014. The hiring goal builds on the more than 6,000 veterans and spouses hired in 2013, and nearly doubles the 3,500 hired in 2012.

The company currently employs more than 30,000 veteran associates, many of whom are still serving in the National Guard and the Reserve forces.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears plans to close a store in the Loop section of downtown Chicago in April 2014. Sears spokesperson Howard Riefs announced the closing in an email which said the store’s 160 employees, most of whom are part-time, will be eligible to apply for jobs at other Sears stores in the area and also to receive severance.

eBay performed strongly during the holiday. Mobile exceeded expectations for the year, allowing the global commerce platform and payments leader to finish the fourth quarter on a high note.

The company reported that revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 increased 13% to $4.5 billion, compared to the same period of 2012.

Both Marketplaces and PayPal achieved record mobile results in 2013, each exceeding $20 billion in mobile volume. Mobile users represented 40% of eBay’s 36 million new users and accounts in 2013.

Dallas — Two new Dickey’s Barbecue Pits will open on January 23, one in Lumberton, Texas, and another in Fairmont, W. Va. Both will offer the first 50 customers gift cards for up to $50.

The Lumberton location will be franchise owner Andy Maredia’s second Dickey’s franchise in the area. He plans to open more locations in the future.

The Fairmont franchisees Joe and Bonnita Pena plan to open five additional locations.

Chicago  — R.P. Wurster has acquired the 49,967-sq.-ft. Plainfield Commons in Plainfield, Ind., for $6.35 million. The 100% leased community shopping center features anchor tenants Dollar Tree and Shoe Carnival. Shadow anchors include Target, Kohl’s, Pier One Imports and PetSmart.

Mid-America Real Estate Corp. in cooperation with Mid-America Real Estate Corp. — Indiana brokered the transaction on behalf of the seller, RPD Catalyst.
 

New York -- The National Retail Federation on late Tuesday sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner that called for replacing the magnetic-strip credit and debit cards that are widely used throughout the United States with chip-based cards that store data in an embedded computer micro-chip and require the use of a PIN rather than a signature. The chip-based cards are widely used in Europe, Asia and Africa.

St. Paul, Minn. – Bruegger’s Bagels opens a new store concept in Woodbury, Minn., today, and is launching a promotional contest to find artwork to place on a large brick feature wall in the store. Through March 31, amateur and professional artists can submit an abstract, two-dimensional design for the wall.

The winning design will be the focal point of the bakery and will be used in select new bakeries nationwide. The chosen artist will receive a $10,000 cash prize. Contest details are available on Bruegger’s Facebook page.

Hudson's Bay Company’s CFO Michael Culhane is reportedly taking a leave of absence from the company. Assuming the CFO role will be Donald Watros, who on Feb. 1 will be stepping into his new role as president of the company.

HBC did not provide further details on Culhane or the CFO spot.