eCommerce

Kirkland's says weather kept shoppers away from stores in January, but the home furnishings retailer still reported a slight increase in same-store sales for the fourth quarter.

For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, net sales increased 11.4% to $199 million compared with $178.7 million for prior year quarter. Same-store sales, including e-commerce sales, rose 1.3% compared with an increase of 8.2% in the prior-year quarter. Kirkland's opened 12 stores and closed six during the fourth quarter, bringing the total number of stores to 376 at quarter end.

It’s been quite common of late to hear retailers cite warm weather and intense competition as sources of sales weakness, but the prize for originality goes to PriceSmart after the warehouse club operator reported a January same-store sales decline.

While rumors of Amazon launching a chain of physical bookstores seem to be exaggerated, there is no question that pure-play retailers are beginning to make inroads into the brick-and-mortar channel. Over the past couple of years, e-tailers as diverse as Warby Parker, Bonobos and Birchbox have not only opened stores, but committed themselves to expanding in the space.

Here are a few good reasons for virtual enterprises to consider selling items in a “real” environment.

Buy Online, Pickup at Your Store

A first-of-it-kinds promotion involving Dick’s Sporting Goods and highlighting the capabilities of the UbeRush delivery service vows to have championship T-shirts in the hands of Carolina Panthers or Denver Broncos fans less than two hours after the Super Bowl ends.

Party City Holdco Inc. is looking to broaden its e-commerce reach.

The 900-store, vertical operator of the Party City and Halloween City party goods chains is launching a new e-commerce partnership with Staples Inc. Products manufactured and sourced by Party City will be merchandised and sold on Staples.com.

Lululemon Athletica will open the first U.S. outpost of the brand’s design incubator “lab” format in downtown Manhattan, in March.

It’s only the second location for the unusual concept. The first, opened in 2009, is in the company’s hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia.

It’s the beginning of a new era at long-suffering American Apparel.

On Friday, the company announced it has emerged from Chapter 11 as a private company after successfully implementing its reorganization plan. The announcement comes days after the Delaware bankruptcy court gave its approval to the plan.

Fabletics, the fashion athletic brand co-founded by actress Kate Hudson, is setting up shop in the nation’s largest shopping mall.

The retailer is set to open at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, this spring. The 2,000-sq.-ft. store will feature the brand’s signature fashion-forward activewear for women and also its new line of men’s high performance athletic gear and lifestyle basics.

Fabletics was launched online in 2013. It made the leap to brick-and-mortar in fall 2015, and currently operates six stores.