eCommerce

The Sports Authority on Wednesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it plans to close or sell as many as 140 of its 463 stores nationwide. The beleaguered company has struggled in recent years under increased competition not only from online players, but also from the likes of Dick’s Sporting Goods and specialty retailers such as Lululemon that have capitalized on the “athleisure” boom in fitness apparel.

Abercrombie & Fitch's efforts to attract more shoppers with a better store experience and updated merchandise mix are paying off as the retailer reported an unexpected increase in same-store sales and a 30% increase in profit for the fourth quarter.

Abercrombie said overall same-store sales rose 1% in the quarter ended Jan. 30, the first gain in the metric since the third quarter 2012. Analysts on average were expecting a decline of 0.10%. The gain in same-store sales was driven by a 4% increase in the Hollister division.

Sports Authority Inc., which is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy, has discussed selling stores and intellectual property to rival chain Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. and other parties, according to Bloomberg.

Sports Authority, once the largest sporting-goods retailer in the U.S., is heading toward default after years of losing ground to competitors. The Englewood, Colorado-based chain missed a Jan. 15 interest payment on some of its debt and failed to make the payment during a 30-day grace period.

Dollar Tree says the integration of Family Dollar stores helped grow sales and profit in the fourth quarter.

For its fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, net sales at Dollar Tree were $5.37 billion, a 116.7% increase from the same period a year ago. The boost in revenue was the result of $2.68 billion in sales from the Family Dollar d. Same store sales increased 1.7%. Profit was $229 million, up by $22.4 million from a year ago. 

When it comes to fraudulent online transactions, one state in particular may warrant a little extra attention from retailers.

Analysis of millions of 2015 e-commerce transactions by Experian indicates Florida is the overall riskiest state for billing fraud, followed by Delaware; Washington, D.C.; Oregon and California. Billing fraud states are determined by where the consumer whose information was illegally used resides.

Nebraska Furniture Mart needs everything under control to compete with larger chains, and is ensuring some of its most basic functions are running as smoothly as possible.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based retailer, which is a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary with four branded stores and one clearance store, has selected the WorkForce Software EmpCenter solution to manage labor at its retail, warehouse, and corporate home office locations.

Charlotte, N.C. -- Starwood Retail Partners announced a $50 million investment in an 11-acre parcel adjacent to Northlake Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company plans to build a 200,000-sq. ft. lifestyle component complementing the existing two-story mall. Construction is set to begin by early 2017.

The project will include retail, dining, entertainment, landscaping, parking and pedestrian friendly areas.

Stein Mart says it has extended its consumer credit agreement with Synchrony Financial with a new long-term deal.

Since 2006, Synchrony Financial and Stein Mart have partnered to offer credit card programs for qualifying cardholders at the retail chain’s 278 stores and at Steinmart.com. Consumers can apply in-store or online for the Stein Mart Style Credit Card or the Stein Mart Style Platinum Master Card.

Amazon is about to launch its biggest venture into food outside of the United States.
 
The online giant will deliver groceries to Amazon Prime Now and Amazon Pantry customers in the United Kingdom under a new wholesale supply deal it has struck with Morrisons, the U.K.’s fourth-largest supermarket chain.

Under the arrangement, Morrisons will supply fresh, frozen and non-perishable goods to Amazon customers, starting later this year.

Young girls are notoriously picky about what they wear, and now someone is doing something about it.

Kidpik, a new online shopping service aimed at girls age 3-12 (and their parents), offers curated, personalized fashion collections. Girls initially fill out an interactive quiz about their apparel preferences, and based on the results are assigned a look such as Girly Girl, Modest or Classic Chic.