Consumer Electronics

Spanish Fort, Ala. -- Dallas-based Cypress Equities has officially broken ground on a 3.5-acre park project, at Spanish Fort Town Center, in Spanish Fort, Alabama.  The park is part of a major site enhancement plan, which also comprises upgraded building facades, a freshly designed sign package, along with new store and restaurant offerings.

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy ads early as the beginning of February 2015. According to the Wall Street Journal, RadioShack is currently in talks with several private equity firms about possibly buying its assets out of bankruptcy.

New York -- Staples chairman and CEO Ron Sargent will not accept a $31,000 base pay raise the board of directors had previously approved as the chain comes off a not-so-great year.

The company announced that Sargent would not accept the 2.5% pay increase, along with several noteworthy governance moves, including the appointment of an independent chair when Sargent retires.

In other board moves, current director and former Toys “R” Us CEO Robert Nakasone is relinquishing his seat to make room for a Google executive.

Minneapolis – Best Buy Co. Inc. had a happy holiday season, but the New Year is not looking so bright. The retailer is predicting flat to negative enterprise same-store sales during the first half of fiscal 2016.

Best Buy is basing this prediction on external pressures such as declining consumer excitement about high-profile products that sold well during the holidays, deflationary pricing and declining purchases of extended warranties.

Solid sales of televisions and mobile phones in stores and online drove better than expected top line growth at Best Buy during the holidays with details on profitability yet to come.

The company said same-store sales grew 3.4% in the United States over the holidays (Nov.-Dec.) as it sold more large-screen TVs and mobile phones.

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation (NRF) is launching United for Patent Reform, a new coalition co-chaired by NRF and Oracle and comprised of grocery, hotel, retail, restaurant and technology associations and companies. The coalition will pursue patent reform legislation aimed at curbing abuse of the patent system by “patent trolls.”

Wearables
In 2015, consumers will inevitably begin to integrate wearable connective technology more into their daily lives. For example, Luxottica Group S.pA. is launching a multiyear R&D collaboration with Intel Corp. to create eyewear infused with smart technology. The ultimate goal is to deliver smart, fashion-forward products that are meaningful and desirable to consumers. The first product from Intel and Luxottica is expected to launch in 2015.

The strength of the U.S. dollar and a decline in hardware sales are among the reasons GameStop cited for its decline in holiday sales. But that's not the whole story.

Sales of new software, a key category for the video game retailer, were strong. New software sales increased 5.8%, or 8.9% in constant currency. The growth was driven by a 94.4% increase in PS4 and Xbox One software, led by titles such as Activision’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V and Ubisoft’s Far Cry 4.