Consumer Electronics

Goal Zero, innovator of portable solar power systems, has appointed former REI SVP of merchandising Lee Fromson to president and COO.

The company has also made strategic changes to its executive team, with current president and CEO Joe Atkin assuming the role of co-chairman of the board, and founder and chief creative officer Robert Workman becoming CEO.

San Diego -- Petco has named Larry Rutkowski as executive VP and CFO. Prior to joining Petco, Rutkowski served as  executive VP and CFO for The Warnaco Group, an American textile and clothing corporation, and Primedia, a consumer advertising, new media and publishing company, both in New York.

Previously, he also held senior financial leadership positions at General Electric and Walt Disney Company.

IBM and digital commerce firm Fluid are collaborating on Fluid Expert Shopper (XPS), an app made with the IBM Watson artificial intelligence platform. Fluid XPS lets consumers ask highly specific questions, as they would a sales associate in a store, and receive personalized advice. The app will take advantage of Watson’s abilities to understand and learn from natural language, meaning it will engage in human-like conversations and provide product recommendations that take the context of customer questions into account.

Grapevine, Texas -- GameStop Corp. will close 120-130 of its 6,457 stores worldwide in 2014 and add 300 to 400 new tech stores under three different banners: Spring Mobile, Cricket and Simply Mac. The closures and openings are part of the company’s new “GameStop3.0” repositioning. The new strategy emphasizes mobile-gaming.

“The opportunities that have presented themselves we see as unique,” said GameStop CEO Paul Raines during an investor meeting last week.

Charlottesville, Va. – Crutchfield Corp. has adopted the new integrated 360pi-Displaydata solution to realize in-store dynamic pricing. 360pi is working with Displaydata to incorporate Electronic Shelf Labeling (ESL) to give physical stores the ability to employ dynamic pricing.

The new solution is designed to provide retailers with the ability to automate and increase the frequency of in-store price updates without the cost, time, effort and error associated with manual price changes

Space Ninety 8, a new concept from Urban Outfitters, has opened in the uber-hip Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. Big and spacious, the multi-level space is located in a renovated warehouse. It has an industrial look, complete with exposed ceilings and brick wall, with lots of boho-chic accents.  

The basement level houses a pop-up, with Adidas originals serving as the inaugural tenant. The space is colorful, with bold, crazy prints (the work of a local artist) accenting the walls and displays.

Baltimore - Under Armour opens its newest specialty retail location in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City on April 24. The SoHo Brand House is Under Armour's largest retail store to date and is the first store to feature Under Armour's Rowhouse Basement shop, where staff will provide private consultations to athletes, celebrities and VIP clientele in an intimate setting.

Sidney, Neb. -- With last year’s strong first quarter fueled by a firearms and ammunition sales surge, outdoor retailer Cabela’s Inc. saw this year’s quarter end on a less stellar note.

Revenue in the first quarter fell 9.6% to $725.8 million; retail store revenue decreased 9.4% to $440.9 million. Same-store sales plunged 21.7%, compared to the same period last year.

Net income was $25.7 million, compared to $49.8 million in the year-ago quarter.