Retail

Minneapolis – Target Corp. is reducing its earnings guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 due to the expected $138 million financial impact of its December 2013 data breach, partially offset by $38 million in insurance. Target now expects EPS for the quarter within a range around $0.78, compared with prior guidance of $0.85 to $1 per share.

GNC has appointed senior retail industry executive Michael G. Archbold as CEO and member of the board, effective immediately. Archbold replaces chairman, president and CEO Joseph Fortunato, who is leaving the company and has stepped down from the board.

Lead independent director Michael Hines has been elected non-executive chairman.

Baltimore -- Under Armour announced that George W. Bodenheimer, former president of sports network and entertainment company ESPN has joined the company's board of directors.  

Bodenheimer is an ESPN and cable industry pioneer, having served as the company's longest-tenured President from 1998 to 2012, during which time he led an unprecedented period of global growth. He most recently served as executive chairman of ESPN, before retiring from the company in May 2014.

J. C. Penney is expanding its New York footprint with the opening of its first-ever store in Brooklyn. The store will have design elements and innovative features not found in any of its other stores, according to the retailer.

Minneapolis - HighJump Software, a provider of supply chain execution and retail management software, is releasing new capabilities and enhancements to its Retailvantage retail inventory and POS solution. With more than 50 enhancements and new features added to the system, this latest release includes enhanced reporting functionality, further e-commerce integration with FurnitureDealer.net and MicroD, and new capabilities such as the ability to send e-receipts and capture digital customer signatures at the point-of-sale.

Once again a move by our innovative friends at Amazon.com has prompted me to write a Tech Bytes column. Amazon’s latest interesting venture is the launch of an online marketplace for items created by 3D printer. Currently, the online 3D printed products store includes more than 200 items in categories such as jewelry, toys, home décor and fashion accessories. The new store will feature design templates for product individualization and 3D preview capability.

San Francisco – Shopper traffic declined 6% in July 2014 compared to the same month in 2013, due to real wage pressure, favorable summer weather, and a shift towards big-ticket item purchases, according to monthly benchmarks from in-store analytics provider Euclid.

Scottsdale, Ariz. – On dates ranging from October 19, 2013 and April 10, 2014, hackers compromised the security of credit card processing systems at 33 locations of the P.F. Chang’s restaurant chain in Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nevada and North Carolina, and may have stolen consumer credit card data. The U.S. Secret Service notified P.F. Chang’s of the breach on June 10, 2014 and P.F. Chang’s says it has been processing credit card numbers securely since June 11.