Retail

Hollister plans to open the Hollister House this summer from Memorial Day weekend through early August. The brand, rooted in Southern California, will feature new summer styles and host music performances at the beach house all summer long.

The lineup of musical artists includes Ariana Grande, Chromeo (DJ set), Cody Simpson, Lucy Hale, MKTO, Timeflies and Zendaya.

New York -- Many retailers reported better than expected sales in April, helped by warmer weather and a later-than-usual Easter. Gap Inc., L Brands, Costco Wholesale Club, The Buckle, Stein Mart and Zumiez all came in ahead of analysts estimates.

At Gap Inc., same-store rose a better-than-expected 9% in April. By banner, sales were up 3% at Gap stores, 7% at Banana Republic and 18% at Old Navy. Analysts had expected Gap’s total same-store sales to inch up 0.1%.

Sprouts Farmers Market’s president and CEO Doug Sanders credited the company’s focus on offering healthy food at affordable prices for 28 consecutive quarters of positive same-store sales growth as well as record first quarter results that outperformed its targets.

Reston, Va. - Among retailers and distribution firms that have deployed mobile apps to their workforces, 46% are using mobile apps for inspections, followed by 35% for checklists and 31% for surveys. According to a new survey of more than 1,100 business and IT decision makers conducted by mobile business app provider Canvas, 63% of all businesses surveyed see value in integrating core business applications, such as Dropbox, Square, Salesforce, Evernote and Quickbooks, with mobile devices and tools.

Virgin Mobile has entered into a partnership with Banana Republic that will offer its Canadian members the newest looks from the brand for less.

Starting today through Dec. 31, Virgin Mobile members will receive 20% off any one full-priced item at Banana Republic stores across the country.

Cole Haan has launched its Dog Days of Summer campaign in partnership with The Good Dog Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes the use of animal-assisted therapy using its certified therapy dog teams.

The brand enlisted a few canine friends from the foundation to star in the campaign. From Coco, a Yorkshire Terrier perched upon an upside down top hat, to Emma and Finn, two Mini Whoodles outfitted in white and blue polka dot bows, the dogs are shown alongside select pieces from Cole Haan's men's pre-fall collection.

Amsterdam, Netherlands - Thomas Nowak, senior VP merchandising for European e-commerce site Bol.com, will join the Staples team as senior VP of merchandising, Staples Europe, effective Aug. 1. Nowak will report to president of Staples Europe John Wilson, and will be a member of the European leadership team.

Amazon customers in 15 additional cities are now eligible for Sunday delivery, according to the online retail giant.

In addition to the Los Angeles and New York metro areas where Sunday delivery launched late last year, Amazon customers in the following locations are now receiving deliveries on Sunday: