eCommerce

The Finish Line is looking to upgrade its customer experience capabilities with the addition of a new chief omnichannel officer and executive vice president.

The company announced that former Sears executive Imran Jooma has joined the company as chief omnichannel officer and executive VP. He will be responsible for all of the Finish Line brand’s customer facing touch points including digital, store operations, the customer care center and brand marketing.

Seattle - Increasingly, men (who now compose 43% of primary shoppers) are shopping frequently for groceries and they now make just as many monthly grocery store visits as women. According to “Food Shopping in America 2014,” a study from MSLGroup and The Hartman Group, on average, U.S. grocery buyers shop three channels per week, including visits to grocery, specialty, mass merchandise, club, convenience, dollar and online stores.

One of the interesting retail real estate trends I’ve been seeing pick up steam in the last couple of years is the willingness of many retailers to look beyond the traditional mall locations. Many are choosing locations on “hot streets,” bustling avenues within major communities that happen to be the retail hub, or in the downtown/village center area of the market.

New York - While the digital age has encouraged more consumers to shop and browse products on the Web, physical stores are still primary destinations for shoppers, according to an annual survey by PwC's.

Melville, N.Y. -- A&G Realty Partners, a leading commercial real estate, advisory and investment group, has been retained by RadioShack to manage the sale of retail store leases and warehouses following the company's recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Chicago -- Famed British toy retailer Hamleys is coming across the pond. The 255-year old company, famous for has retained JLL to facilitate a multiple store roll-out throughout the United States.

Every time a retailer files for bankruptcy I am reminded of a harshly appropriate comment Jay Leno made in a monologue years ago after an icon of American retailing succumbed to market forces.

Montgomery Ward (remember them?), a company with an illustrious history that had a tremendous influence on the evolution of the retail industry, filed for bankruptcy in 1997 and was later liquidated.

Gap Inc. is raising its profit guidance based on its fourth-quarter sales and reduced taxes.

The retailer says it expects to report a profit of $2.86 to $2.87 per share for the year, up from its previous estimate of $2.73 to $2.78 per share. Analysts expected $2.74 per share on average.

The San Francisco company says its total fourth-quarter sales grew 3% to $4.71 billion compared with $4.58 billion for the fourth quarter last year.