eCommerce

Luxury dinnerware retailer Lenox is enjoying a feast of e-commerce delights with the aid of Oracle Commerce technology.

Lenox boosted e-commerce sales 26% during the 2015 holiday season compared to the two previous holiday seasons after deploying Oracle Commerce solutions that improved areas such as search results, recommendations, and targeted promotions. At the beginning of the holiday season, Lenox began targeting promotions for customer segments and launching more complex pricing strategies.

Build-A-Bear Workshop on Tuesday said it will continue to diversify its store portfolio — including the opening of a branded experience on a cruise ship — as the chain announced disappointing results for its fourth quarter.

The retailer reported a better-than-expected profit of $20.6 million for the quarter, ended January 3, 2016, compared to net income of $11.8 million in the year ago period.

Whole Foods shoppers looking for organic kale smoothies and non-GMO dog food could soon also get a tattoo while in-store.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Whole Foods CEO Walter Robb  says his company’s new 365 chain is going to try some tactics outside of the conventional grocery-store playbook, including setting up tattoo parlors in the stores.

Read more about the company's plans by clicking here.

For the fourth consecutive year, a department store has nabbed the top spot in a survey of the nation’s favorite fashion retailers.

Nordstrom took the top spot in the study, by Market Force Information.  Interestingly, severak discount retailers moved up the list this year, with Marshalls landing in the No. 2 spot. H&M and Ross Dress for Less tied for third, Kohl’s was fourth and Macy’s was fifth.  

PayPal is entering the buy button arena in a big way.

The new PayPal Commerce service, currently running in closed beta, allows retailers to embed buy buttons into any digital format they choose. This includes blogs, emails, online ads, apps, and social shares. PayPal Commerce is based on a set of open application program interfaces (APIs) and also offers a software developer kit (SDK), making it platform-agnostic and fully embeddable.

Several published reports are indicating that Kohl’s has eliminated three senior level leadership positions.

Kohl’s has reportedly eliminated the positions of chief digital officer, senior vice president of store environment and development, and senior vice president of communications and public relations. Retailing Today was unable to independently confirm the jobs cuts or the identify of executives involved. Kohl’s representatives were unavailable for comment.

L Brands chairman and CEO Leslie Wexner is assuming leadership of the company’s biggest division, Victoria’s Secret, after the retailer announced that CEO Sharen Jester Turney had resigned. Her sudden and unexpected departure follows a tremendous growth run for the brand.

Turney spent 16 years with Victoria’s Secret, joining the brand in 2000 as president and CEO of Victoria’s Secret Direct. She became CEO of brand in 2006. She will continue to serve as an advisor to the business, according to an L Brands statement.

I previously wrote a column about the benefits opening physical stores can offer pure play online retailers. Inspired by the recent completion of the Hudson’s Bay-Gilt acquisition, this week I’d like to examine three instant advantages purchasing a pure play retailer can provide to brick-and-mortar chains.

Instant Expertise

Washington, D.C. -- Gerald S. Divaris, chairman and CEO of Divaris Real Estate, announced the company negotiated five leases totaling 17,469 sq. ft. of commercial space in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., market.

Wash ‘N Dry - leased 5,792 sq. ft. of retail space at Ashdale Plaza located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Retailers at the center include: Family Dollar, Popeye’s, Wells Fargo, Goodwill and Davita. The landlord, A.R. Kronstadt Realty Investors, was represented by DRE’s Susan McGee.

While Whole Foods continues to work on the performance of its flagship stores, the company disclosed new locations and expressed confidence in its 365 format even though the first unit is scheduled to open until May.