Retail

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. reported a net income increase in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 compared to the same period a year earlier, even as net sales dipped. Fourth quarter net income rose 4% to $28.1 million from $27.1 million, while net sales declined 4% to $572 million from $594 million and same-store sales remained flat.

Northbrook, Ill. – Trustees of Northbrook, Ill. reportedly are considering a 43,000-sq.-ft. retail development. According to the Chicago Tribune, the development sits on a four-acre parcel near the border with Glenview, Ill., which is owned by Svigos Asset Management.

Walmart this week opened its first small format convenience store branded as Walmart To Go in its hometown of Bentonville.

Seattle – WhitePages is rolling out the WhitePages Pro Identity Score product, which is designed to help business users quickly validate customer identities to accelerate their order flow, as well as detect fake identities that warrant flagging the transaction. WhitePages Pro provides business users with access to a database of consumer contact information.

As part of its international growth strategy, Gap plans to open five franchise-operated Old Navy stores in the Philippines in 2014.

The first two Old Navy stores will open in Manila this month, and there are plans to open three more stores in the second half of the year for a total of five Old Navy stores this year.

Yonkers, N.Y. – Banana Republic will become a new retailer at the Ridge Hill shopping center in Yonkers, N.Y. Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC), the developer and owner of Ridge Hill, said the Banana Republic location will open beneath the center's Uniqlo store.

Retailers are enhancing shoppers’ digital in-store experience by adding lots of new applications which can overwhelm existing IT infrastructure. That’s why The Bon-Ton Stores built redundant capabilities with the help of Hughes to enable its e-commerce strategy.