eCommerce

Boston — Boylston Properties and The Wilder Companies have completed phase one of the redevelopment of the Arsenal Mall in Watertown, Mass.The companies marked the occasion by announcing a new name for the mall: The Arsenal Project.

Completed enhancements to The Arsenal Project include a reconfigured interior layout with new seating, upgrades to the building’s exterior and landscaping. Oversized metal tree-planters now line Arsenal Street, the center’s entrance and other areas throughout the development.

Corte Madera, Calif. – Restoration Hardware grew its net income an impressive 389% to $13 million from $2.7 million in the same period a year earlier. Net revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 increased 39% to $395.8 million from $284.2 million, while same-store sales increased 29%.

Gary Friedman, chairman and co-CEO of Restoration Hardware, credited net revenue growth and advertising savings as factors driving the company’s net income increase. The strong quarterly financial performance exceeded Wall Street expectations.

Seattle – Nordstrom has closed a previously announced offering of $400 million aggregate principal amount of 5.00% Senior Notes due 2044. The proceeds from the sale of the notes will be used for general corporate purposes, including repayment or retirement of outstanding indebtedness due in 2014, financing of capital expenditures and working capital needs.

The notes were offered in a private placement, solely to qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933.

By Rajashree R, Tata Consultancy Services

New York -- Due to the holiday rush and related closings, Chain Store Age has extended the deadline for its 32nd annual Retail Store of the Year Design Competition until Wednesday, January 8, 2014.

More than 20 competition categories are featured, including department stores, supermarkets, discounters, restaurants, convenience stores, specialty stores, service, sustainability and pop-up stores. This year, for the first time, the competition also includes the category of in-store digital innovation.

Shopko plans to open two new Shopko Hometown stores. The stores, which will average 36,000 sq. ft., are located in Mayville, Wis., and Valentine, Neb.

The Shopko Hometown retail format, developed to augment Shopko’s larger store model and focused on serving the needs of smaller rural communities, combines retail health services with a broad offering of national brands and high-value private label brands of apparel, home furnishings, toys, consumer electronics, seasonal items, every day consumable items and lawn and garden products.

Walmart has appointed Krish Iyer president and CEO of Walmart India, effective Jan. 20, 2014. He will report to Scott Price, president of Walmart Asia.

Giant Food Stores is expanding its partnership with sister company Peapod again, this time with the launch of a new pickup spot at a store in a town near Philadelphia.

Giant-Carlisle and online grocery service Peapod, both banners of Ahold USA, announced the launch of the pickup service in Huntingdon Valley, Pa. The store is the 10th Giant location in Pennsylvania to include a Peapod pickup spot.

Mystery Tackle Box is a monthly subscription service that introduces beginner and expert anglers to new fishing lures and tackle. The innovative e-commerce operation sends subscribers a box containing $15 worth of fishing products every month.

New York -- Amazon.com is the most popular U.S. online retail site when it comes to having web content shared on Pinterest, the pin-board style social network, in the run up to Christmas 2013. The findings come from a study by digital marketing software and services specialist Searchmetrics.

In a study of ten top U.S. retail sites, images and pages from Amazon.com are being shared most frequently on Pinterest, with Walmart and Apple taking second and third positions respectively.