eCommerce

The Children's Place president and CEO Jane Elfers focused on the positive following decreases in net and comparable-store sales for the third quarter, despite the company’s reportedly strong performance during the back-to-school period.

Famous footwear may have generated record third quarter sales, but parent company Brown Shoe was unwilling to get too ambitious with holiday expectations given uncertainty it sees around promotional activity and consumer sentiment.

Barnes & Noble faces all the same headwinds as other retailers this holiday season, but its challenges are compounded by the fact that it continues to derive the majority of its revenues from declining sales of physical books.

The operator of 673 book stores said it expects holiday same store sales to decline in the high single digits following a 4.9% comp decrease during the second quarter ended October 26.
Total Barnes & Noble sales declined 8% to $1.7 billion with each of the company’s three segments reporting reduced sales.

Fred's credited an 8% lift in pharmacy department sales as a key factor accounting for the company's third-quarter success.

An increase in third-quarter net sales was not enough to bolster Chico’s FAS’s net income, which took a hit from its Boston Proper business.

The company reported net income of $35.8 million, down 15% from $42 million in the same period a year earlier.

Online sales early this week were up nearly 12% from the equivalent Monday a year earlier. Data from the IBM Digital Analytics Holiday Benchmark shows that mobile traffic accounted for nearly 32% of all online traffic, up 42% compared to the same period last year.   

Antonio Urcelay has replaced Gerald Storch as chairman of Toys “R” Us and the retailer also named Richard Markee to its board.

New York — The early bird rate for Chain Store Age's 32nd annual Retail Store of the Year design competition ends on Nov. 29. Retailers, design firms, architects and suppliers are invited to submit entries for the competition, whose regular deadline for submission is December 23, 2013.

Gap, Pa. -- Urban Outfitters has awarded Vanderlande Industries a design and build contract for the automated material handling system at their new fulfillment center located in Gap, Pa. The new one million-sq-ft. facility will service their direct-to-consumer and wholesale channels. Urban Outfitters has also contracted Vanderlande’s Customer Services to provide monthly preventative operations and maintenance services.

By Shelley E. Kohan, [email protected]

Thanksgiving is drawing near, and with the official start of the holiday now beginning on Thursday (as some retailers will open on Thanksgiving Day), it’s time to talk about the “Giant Turkey” in the room for physical retail stores.