Retail

Spindle, a leading provider of mobile commerce solutions, has signed a strategic agreement with Moolah, an independent sales organization that serves thousands of merchants across the US.

Moolah will integrate Spindle's merchant aggregation and payment processing infrastructure into its e-commerce and mobile offerings, enabling Moolah to offer instant merchant onboarding, increase merchant approval rates and allow those customers to begin accepting credit card payments in approximately 10 minutes.

New York -- Doug McMillon, CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, said the company plans to ramp up the company's pace of partnerships and acquisitions as part of a broader strategy to better compete with digital rivals, Bloomberg reported.  

“We’ve been more acquisitive lately, especially for talent,” McMillon said, according to the report. “And our pace of acquisitions, I think, is going to accelerate.”

Fort Myers, Fla. – Higher costs reduced profits at Chico’s FAS Inc. during the first quarter of fiscal 2014 even as net sales grew. Chico’s reported net income of $39.88 million, a 22% year-over-year-drop from $51.12 million in the year-ago period.

Conn’s, a specialty retailer of home appliances, furniture, mattresses, consumer electronics, announced the opening of its first two Conn’s HomePlus stores in Tennessee.

The HomePlus store format showcases furniture and mattresses in addition to the leading brands and the latest technologies in consumer electronics and home appliances. The stores are at Cross Creek, in Memphis, and at Town & Country Commons, in Knoxville.

Woonsocket, R.I. – CVS is launching Specialty Connect, a specialty prescription services program that allows to bring their specialty prescriptions to any CVS/pharmacy location, as a complement to existing specialty pharmacy processes.  

Target has formed a digital advisory council as part of its efforts to accelerate its digital transformation. The company will look to the panel of technology industry leaders to help guide its omnichannel strategies.

The council includes experts with varied tech backgrounds, and includes Ajay Agarwal, managing director of Bain Capital Ventures; Amy Chang, CEO/co-founder of Accompani, former head of Google Analytics; Roger Liew, chief technology officer of Orbitz Worldwide; and Sam Yagan, CEO of the Match Group and CEO/founder of OkCupid.

Brussels, Belgium - Dirk Van den Berghe has decided to resign from his role as CEO of Delhaize Belgium and Luxembourg effective July 31. Delhaize Group is announcing that Van den Berghe has decided to resign and accept a new role outside the company.

DSW may have had a challenging first quarter, driven by unseasonal weather and an aggressively promotional retail environment, but the company is looking to strengthen its competitive advantage by investing in omnichannel and assortment planning.

The company reported a sales decrease of 0.4% to $599 million for the first quarter ended May 3, compared to last year's first quarter sales of $601 million. Comparable sales decreased by 3.7%.