eCommerce

Williams-Sonoma set a milestone in 2014 that helped the retailer post an impressive jump in same store sales and profit.

The specialty retailer of home furnishing products reported that for the first time ever, e-commerce sales made up more than 50% of all revenues in 2014.

Williams-Sonoma said its fourth quarter net revenues grew 5.2% to $1.542 billion versus $1.466 billion in the prior year quarter. Same store sales grew of 5.1%. Earnings per share grew 13.8% to $1.57 from $1.38 in the prior year quarter.

Amid a fast-changing industry in which retailers seek to harmonize their online and physical stores, the largest retailer in the world has announced the date of its annual shareholders meeting.

Wal-Mart Stores announced the meeting will be held on June 5 at 7 a.m. CDT in the Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.

The meeting will be webcast on the company’s website at http://stock.walmart.com. The company also announced that April 10 is the record date for that meeting.

New York -- J. Crew Group Inc. saw fourth quarter namesake sales and traffic counts fall, which dragged down results for the quarter ended Jan. 31.  J. Crew reported a loss of $30.6 million for the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $5.9 million in the year-ago period. An impairment charge contributed $26 million to the negative results.

Target has been hit with a slew of negative reports recently, and now the retailer is trying to do something positive for its image by making its return policy more shopper-friendly.

Target Corp. announced an enhanced return policy Wednesday covering all of the retailer’s 32 owned and exclusive brands, which extends the return window to one year from the date of purchase. The retailer also rolled out a one-year return guarantee for guests using Target’s baby, college or wedding gift registry.

Columbus, Ohio -- On the heels of its announcement that it would open 35 stores in 2015, footwear retailer DSW said Wednesday that 19 of those store openings would occur this spring.

The locations will be nationwide, including 12 new markets.

"We are pleased to grow our footprint in cities DSW already calls home, while also expanding to new areas of the country. Opening 19 stores this season and more throughout 2015 is absolutely thrilling for our brand,” said Carrie McDermott, executive VP and COO of DSW.

On the heels of a very successful fiscal year, Foot Locker executives have announced a string of new and expanded strategic initiatives.

Richard Johnson, president and CEO of Foot Locker Inc. and other members of the company's senior management team announced an updated set of growth initiatives, and a revised strategic framework, intended to further elevate its long-term financial performance for the period 2015 through 2020.

New York - EBay and Sotheby’s are jointly launching live auctions on EBay. Part of EBay’s new live auctions platform, the service is now available for browsing and advance bidding on Sotheby’s items leading up to the launch of Sotheby’s first live auctions on eBay on April 1.

EBay and Sotheby’s originally announced plans to partner on live auctions in July 2014, and have since worked together to deliver a virtual experience. Sotheby’s first live auctions on eBay will be a themed New York sale and a photographs sale.

Foothill Rach, Calif. – A winning bidder has reportedly emerged for the assets of The Wet Seal Inc., which declared bankruptcy in January 2015. According to the Wall Street Journal, Versa Capital Management LLC will take over at least 140 store leases and invest $10 million in the specialty apparel chain.