Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Seattle - Amazon.com has expanded same-day delivery in Baltimore, Dallas, Indianapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., metro areas, with more than a million eligible items now available for same-day delivery. These six cities join the existing same-day delivery-eligible cities of Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle.

Despite reporting a second-quarter sales increase of 5% and a digital sales increase of 9% — with mobile representing 15% of its total sales — HSN missed Wall Street expectations for its net income thanks to a 5% drop from $43.3 million a year earlier to $40.9 million for the quarter.

Overall net sales grew 5% over the prior year to $855.2 million.

Austin, Texas – Zales has the highest annual percentage rate (APR) on its private label card out of 61 U.S. retailers surveyed by CreditCards.com. According to the study, the retailers with the five highest maximum APRs are:

1. Zales, up to a 28.99% APR;
2. Office Depot Personal Credit, up to a 27.99% APR;
3. Staples Personal Account, up to a 27.99% APR;
4. My Best Buy, up to a 25.24% and 27.99% APR, depending on your credit score; and

Zulily remains a company to watch in the e-commerce world with strong second quarter sales growth coming from existing and new customers on mobile devices.

The Seattle-based company’s value priced offering of apparel, shoes, home décor and gifts resonated with shoppers during the second quarter ended June 29. Sales at the four year old company increased 97% to $285 million and adjusted earnings per share nearly doubled to nine cents from five cents the prior year.

Los Angeles — The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has inked an exclusive deal with developer L.A. Style to expand the coffee and tea retailer into Japan by the end of this year.

L.A. Style is a joint-venture partnership between fast-casual restaurateur Hotland Co. and Japan’s largest shopping mall developer Aeon Mall Co.
The deal ultimately calls for 200 stores across Japan.

New York -- Sascha Bopp, CEO of Crate &and Barrel, has resigned. The retailer’s COO and CFO, Adrian Mitchell, has assumed interim leadership. A search is underway for a permanent replacement.

“This position will concentrate on supporting the company’s evolving business strategy and include a deepened focus on the customer experience and growth in the digital space,” the company said in a statement.

New York -- Uniqlo will make its Midwest debut in fall 2015, opening a flagship in downtown Chicago in fall 2015. The store, located at 830 North Michigan Avenue, will be Uniqlo’s second largest location in the United States, after its Fifth Avenue flagship in New York.

Scottsdale, Ariz. - The Cold Stone Creamery will open its first store in Pakistan in September. Kahala Brands, the parent company of Cold Stone Creamery, has signed a master franchise agreement with Venus Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., part of the Venus Group of companies, spearheaded by Adnan Asad.