Retail

Best Buy Canada is now offering Gibson’s guitars and basses from Gibson USA and Epiphone, both online and in select stores across Canada. This launch adds to the ever-growing selection of more than 300 musical instruments available online at bestbuy.ca.

Ridgefield, Conn. —Schimenti Construction Company is building a $1.5 million Panera Bread cafe on Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan. The company began the project in September and will complete construction in January 2014.

Panera adds to Schimenti’s roster of fast-casual restaurant clients, which includes Starbucks and Chipotle. A project for another new client, Chik-Fil-A, is slated to begin in 2014.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization’s CEO Summit is winding down in Bali, Indonesia and Walmart Asia CEO Scott Price used the event as a platform to share progress the company has made on a variety of fronts.

Price, who serves as chairman of the National Center for APEC, was among a roster of high level business executive and global political leaders to attend the event which ran from October 1-8. Notably absent was U.S. President Barack Obama who had canceled his visit at the last minute due to the U.S. government shutdown.

J.C. Penney Co. is expanding its kids and baby line-up with the launch of exclusive new brands, including dedicated in-store environments for Disney and giggleBABY.

Penney’s Disney shop concept ranges in size from 800 sq. ft. to 1,100 sq. ft. The branded department features toys, collectibles and children's apparel designed exclusively for Penney and showcasing various Disney characters.

Columbus, Ohio – Lane Bryant officially reopens its store at the West Towne mall in Madison, Wis. on Friday, Oct. 4 with a new look. On the same day Lane Bryant opens a new store in Houston.

The store will celebrate its grand opening at both stores from Oct. 4 through Oct. 6. Customers who shop at those location during the weekend will be able to enter for a chance to win one of 150 $25 Lane Bryant gift cards.

Boston – Women are more likely to have shopped online in the past year than men (57% compared to 52%), but men are more likely to have made a purchase via smartphone (22% compared to 18%) or tablet (20% compared to 17%), according to a new study from SeeWhy Conversion Academy.  

The report, “The Roles of Gender, Geography and Age in Mobile Commerce,” reveals that among 18-to-24-year-olds, women are actually more likely than men to shop via smartphone (21.6% compared to 21.3%) and tablet (20% compared to 14%).

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack Corporation is reportedly planning to raise funds before the end of this year to gain the confidence of suppliers in its turnaround effort. According to Bloomberg, RadioShack currently has enough liquidity to operate through 2014 but intends to raise additional cash through financing.

The 2014 International CES will feature a new exhibit area called “FashionWare,” focused on the latest innovation in wearable technology, event organizers announced.

Scheduled for January 7-10 in Las Vegas, the CES show, the timing is right for the FashionWare concept because the worlds of apparel, accessories and technology are becoming integrated, so much so in fact that event organizers are planning a wearable technology fashion show.