eCommerce

Sidney, Neb. -- Cabela’s Inc. on Thursday announced it will open four new markets in 2014:  Acworth, Ga., Augusta, Ga.; Missoula, Mont.; and Barrie, Ontario (Canada).  The outdoor goods retailer also reported that its second-quarter net income surged 31% on a 10.5% rise in same-store sales. 

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Vitacost.com, a leading online retailer of health and wellness products, has appointed Chris Cavalline to the newly created position of CMO. 

Cavalline is a 25-year retail industry veteran, and was most recently SVP of merchandising and e-commerce at Kohl's Department Stores. Previously, Cavalline held senior leadership positions at Macy's, Inc. and May department stores. He earned a B.S. in physics and civil engineering from Washington and Lee University.

While the mobile phone serves as a lens to a personalized store experience, moving forward, wearable technologies like Google Glass will take in-store personalization to the next level, Steve Arthur, head of retail industry for Google, told attendees at  the Retailer Roundtable event, sponsored by digital gifting platform provider CashStar. Arthur cautioned that retailers must realize they must deliver consumers the experience they need, rather than what they want, and be prepared for a post-PC world. 

Increased fulfillment costs and other expense pressures caused Amazon.com to report a second quarter loss of $7 million even though sales increased 22% to $15.7 billion.

The company said its sales would have increased 25% were it not for a $392 million headwind related to unfavorable foreign exchange rates. The net loss of $7 million, or two cents a share, was a reversal from the same period the prior year when a profit of $7 million, or one cent a share, was reported.

Leading payments processor Vantiv cited strength in its e-commerce business as a key driver of a second quarter performance that saw revenues increase 11% to $519.4 million and profits on an adjusted basis increase 21.6% to $82.7 million, or 40 cents a share. Vantiv said its e-commerce business grew by 38% during the second quarter.

Chesterfield, Mo. — Taubman Prestige Outlets Chesterfield, a new fashion outlet center opening on Aug. 2, has announced its lineup of stores, many new to the St. Louis market.

Store names include Polo ralph Laurent Factory Store, Restoration Hardware, Abercrombie & Fitch Outlet, Abercrombie kids, 2b bebe Outlet, Lucky Brand Outlet, Brooks Brothers Factory Store and many other well-known names.

SIDNEY, Neb. — Continued strength of firearm sales helped propel second-quarter results at Cabela’s, which reported net income $44.6 million for the three-month period ended June 29, just beating Wall Street's prediction, compared to $33.9 million in the year-ago period. 

The outdoor goods retailer also reported that its second-quarter net income surged 31% on a 10.5% rise in same-store sales. Revenue rose 21% to $756.8 million from $627.3 million. Direct revenue increased 13.7% to $180.1 million.

Pittsburgh -- GNC Holdings Inc.'s second-quarter net income rose nearly 8% amid strong sales. 

During the three months that ended June 30, GNC's income rose to $71.7 million, from $66.7 in the year-ago period. Its results beat expectations. 

Revenue increased 9.2% to $676.3 million from $619.1 million a year ago. Same-store sales rose 6.8% at company-owned stores and 5.2% at franchise locations.