Retail

Dallas -- J.C. Penney Company on Tuesday said its same-store sales rose 2% in the fourth quarter, which included the holiday season. It was the chain’s first positive quarterly sales result since 2011.

Amazon did a bit of Valentine’s Day data mining of sales of romance novels and sexy music to come up with its fifth annual list of the nation’s top 20 romantic cities. And people are worried about the NSA’s activities?

New York -- Caribou Coffee has taken over the rotunda in the nation’s largest shopping center, Mall of America, Bloomington, Minn., to put up a 64-ft.-tall “Living Pinterest Board” to celebrate the launch of its new Real Inspiration blend, created in collaboration with its fans on Pinterest. The Caribou board is on display through Thursday, February 13.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. -- Mindy C. Meads has resigned from the board of directors of The Wet Seal, effective Feb. 4, in order to focus on her new role as CEO of specialty women’s apparel retailer Calypso St. Barth.

The Wet Seal board member Mindy C. Meads has resigned her spot to focus on her new role as CEO of Calypso St. Barth.

“Mindy has been a valued member of the board of directors and we wish her well in her future endeavors with Calypso St. Barth. Mindy’s leadership as chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and her general contributions to the board were a value to the company and its shareholders,” said Lynda Davey, non-executive chairperson.

Dallas - Corner Bakery Cafe has awarded its first multi-unit development agreement of 2014, and plans to open nine new restaurants in the Central Valley area of California with new franchise partner C&L Cafe, LLC. The group of veteran restaurant operators plans to open its first cafes in 2014 and the remaining sites over the next five years.

KEASBEY, N.J. — ShopRite is piloting a program that takes shoppers beyond the traditional checkout lines and self-checkout lanes and enables them to check out from their smartphones.

Deerfield Park, Ill. – Walgreen Co. is reportedly suing CVS Caremark Corp., Rite Aid Corp. and Shopko Stores Inc. for allegedly infringing on a patent for using mobile phone scanners to refill prescriptions. According to Bloomberg, Walgreens filed a complaint in federal court in Wilmington, Del., saying the three competitors are violating a patent it received in January 2013.