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Destination XL Group is seeing strong same store sales growth from its stores branded as DXL as it continues to shift away from the smaller footprint Casual Male concept.

Destination XL Group, which bills itself as the largest omnichannel specialty retailer of big and tall men's apparel, said its total same store sales increased 3.1%, but its 137 DXL stores open for more than 13 months grew comps 8.9%.

Google is reportedly looking to beef up its professional apps offering by purchasing a well-known provider of hosted online retail services. According to Re/Code, Google is considering purchasing Shopify. The Canadian provider of cloud-based e-commerce tools is a public company valued at $2.25 billion. [Re/Code]

Ross Dress for Less opened a new store North El Centro, California on March 5. The opening is part of the retailer’s 2016 expansion program, totaling about 70 new locations during the year.

The 26,000- sq.-ft. store is located at Centro Commons, 11 miles north of the California-Mexico border, at the intersection of Imperial Avenue and Cruickshank Drive. With this location, Ross operates 277 stores in California, its largest state.

The retail industry is not lacking for new concepts — new players are constantly entering the market, both online and offline. But breaking through and establishing a record of success is another matter entirely. In this special section, Chain Store Age presents the winners of its first-ever Breakout Retailer Awards, brands that have crossed the “newbie” line and are on track for growth in the coming years.

RSR has been tracking retailers' e-commerce strategies for more than five years. During that time we’ve seen interest in a major platform refresh, the introduction of mobile and social as e-commerce considerations, as well as convergence – where retailers increasingly view mobile and other non-commerce online activities in the context of their overall "digital" strategy, with their e-commerce platform as the centerpiece.

Leading online jeweler Blue Nile is set to open its first physical location outside of New York City in an ongoing effort to reimagine the jewelry buying experience.

DSW Inc. says strong sales in the fourth quarter show that its growth strategy is working, and the retailer says it plans to open at least 34 new stores this year.

For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, the company reported a profit of $11.8 million, or 14 cents a share, down from $30.8 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 5% to $672 million. Same-store sales increased 0.7%.