Retail

Columbus, Ohio — DSW Inc., Designer Show Warehouse has announced two new store openings, one in Baltimore, and another in Lafayette, La.

DSW operates 385 stores in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Indianapolis – The Finish Line posted increases in net income, net sales and same-store sales during the second quarter of fiscal 2013. Net income totaled $26.19 million, up 6.1% from about $24.44 million a year earlier.

Consolidated net sales were $436 million, up 13.3 % from $385 million in the same quarter the previous year. Same-store sales rose 0.9%.

Boulder, Colo. — Transwetern’s Denver office has announced the completion of two leases at Hilltop Plaza, a four-story retail/office building in Boulder, Colo., in the University Hill shopping district just one block from the University of Colorado.

BoCo Café has taken a 1,742-sq.-ft. space in the food court. Spark Boulder, a provider of student and entrepreneurial co-working facilities, has leased 5,482 sq. ft. and plans to opening in November.

Whole Foods Market’s core values of local, natural and environmentally responsible commerce are showcased in its store in downtown Detroit. The 21,506-sq.-ft. store, the retailer’s first location in the Motor City, features lower pricing and combines its signature organic and locally-made/grown goods with a larger selection of private-label items and frozen and prepackaged foods.

Duck Tape brand duct tape is getting ready for Halloween with a product offering that will allow Halloween enthusiasts to jazz up Halloween décor, costumes and crafts and participate in the brand's Stick or Treat Jack-O-Lantern contest.

For the contest, participants can decorate their own real or artificial pumpkin using the palette of Duck Tape colors and designs for a chance to win a $1,000 cash grand prize. Participants can create a classically spooky Jack-O-Lantern or a Halloween-inspired monster.

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. has promoted Steve McKinney to president of the Fry's Food Stores division. Fry's operates 119 food stores in Arizona.

McKinney, 57, has been VP of operations at the company's Ralphs division since 2007. He succeeds Jon Flora, who passed away unexpectedly two weeks ago.

Single Touch Systems, a technology based mobile media solutions provider, has announced that its mobile messaging volume, which is a key business metric that drives revenues, has been growing at an increasingly accelerated pace.

Single Touch generates a portion of its operating business revenues by sending SMS text messages including reminder messages to customers of some of the largest retailers in the U.S. and U.K. Each message sent generates incremental revenues for Single Touch.

Atlanta – The Home Depot, Inc. reportedly expanding the national rollout of Redbeacon, its online handyman referral service. According to Bloomberg, Home Depot is making Redbeacon, which connects customers online to home repair professionals, in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Montana, and Alaska.

Home Depot now offers Redbeacon in 11 states and plans to roll out the service in additional states during the next two years. The retailer acquired Redbeacon, which was founded by three former Home Depot employees, in 2012.