eCommerce

Winston-Salem, N.C. — Krispy Kreme has announced a development agreement with existing franchisee Great Circle Family Foods to develop 20 new doughnut shops in Southern California. Over the next seven years. Great Circle currently operates 11 Krispy Kreme shops in Southern Calif., making the company Krispy Kreme’s third largest domestic franchisee.

Krispy Kreme can be found in over 800 locations in more than 20 countries around the world.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears plans to close a store in the Loop section of downtown Chicago in April 2014. Sears spokesperson Howard Riefs announced the closing in an email which said the store’s 160 employees, most of whom are part-time, will be eligible to apply for jobs at other Sears stores in the area and also to receive severance.

New York – Retail CIOs are preparing to take advantage of innovative technologies such as mobile, cloud and social, although they are less involved in efforts to leverage Big Data analytics. A new study of retail CIOs from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Forrester Consulting, “The Global Agenda of Retail CIOs,” retail CIOs plan to rapidly implement an array of mobile technologies, with context-aware tech (32%), mobile payments (28%), digital signage (24%), and mobile POS (22%) leading the way.

Las Vegas – Zappos Couture is launching a redesigned web presence with artistic direction and editorial from new artistic director Andre Leon Talley. Talley and Zappos Couture created the imagery for the new editorial in New York City's Industria Studios in December 2013.

Jacksonville, Fla. – Stein Mart, Inc. has named Burton M. Tansky to the company's board of directors. Tansky was with The Neiman Marcus Group for 23 years, retiring as president and CEO in 2010.

Stein Mart has elected Burton M. Tansky to the company's board of directors. Tansky was with Neiman Marcus for 23 years, retiring as president and CEO in 2010.

Before being named as CEO for the Neiman Marcus Group in 2001, Tansky was president and CEO of Neiman Marcus Stores. Prior to this he served as CEO of Bergdorf Goodman, a division of the Neiman Marcus Group, and as president of Saks Fifth Avenue.

Hudson's Bay Company’s CFO Michael Culhane is reportedly taking a leave of absence from the company. Assuming the CFO role will be Donald Watros, who on Feb. 1 will be stepping into his new role as president of the company.

HBC did not provide further details on Culhane or the CFO spot.

ChannelNet, a leading digital customer acquisition, retention and conquest marketing company, has named Angela Johnson as VP of account management.

The company will be looking to Johnson to help it manage growth. Johnson has more than 20 years of client relationship management and is an expert in developing multichannel solutions for the automotive, high-tech and insurance industries.

Zappos Couture’s website has a new look thanks to new artistic director Andre Leon Talley. Talley and Zappos Couture created the imagery for the new editorial in New York City's Industria Studios in December 2013.

American Eagle Outfitters has named Jay L. Schottenstein, executive chairman of the board, as the company’s interim CEO. Schottenstein takes over for Robert Hanson, who is leaving the company.