eCommerce

Los Angeles - Sport Chalet said Tuesday it has launched its fourth-consecutive Treasure Hunt dive, which invites certified scuba divers to participate by diving to find six sunken treasure bars hidden in diving locations off the northern and southern California coasts and in a special marine destination in Arizona.

From June 25 to 18, Sport Chalet will release one clue every Tuesday and Thursday to help divers identify the secret locations of the six gold-painted treasure bars; clues will be posted online and in all participating Sport Chalet retail stores.

New York – Barnes & Noble reported disappointing financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2013. During the fourth quarter, Barnes & Noble reported a net loss of $122 million, significantly more than the net loss of $9.7 million reported in fourth quarter 2012. For the full fiscal year, the retailer posted a net loss of $154.8 million, compared with a net loss of $56.9 million the prior fiscal year.

Denver – Furniture Row, parent company of home furnishings retailer Denver Mattress, is using the Oracle ATG e-commerce solution to both personalize the Denver Mattress e-commerce site and make it adaptable to the format of any device the customer chooses to employ. Using the “adaptive design” website design methodology enabled by ATG technology, the Denver Mattress site instantly recognizes what type of device — such as PC, smartphone or tablet — a customer is using and optimizes display for that specific screen.

Wilmington, Del. – Reemarkit.com, a new e-commerce business that promotes itself as an “online garage sale,” is trying to reconfigure the booming business of consumers reselling used goods online. While such popular sites as eBay and Amazon allow individuals and businesses to resell used merchandise in exchange for a cut of the profits and/or listing fees, Reemarkit.com is technically free, but is employing a profit model more commonly seen in online video games.

LOS ANGELES — Specialty sporting goods retailer Sports Chalet is sticking to an innovative plan that helps retain existing customers while enhancing its brand awareness. The retailer is inviting certified Scuba divers to participate in its Treasure Hunt dive for the fourth consecutive year. 

ATLANTA — The HoneyBaked Ham Company is gearing up for aggressive growth in the Northeastern U.S., and plans to sign more franchise deals in areas where demand for the brand is growing.

New York -- Luxury department store operator Neiman Marcus Inc. on Monday disclosed plans for a proposed public offering of up to $100 million.

The retailer’s plan, announced in a regulatory filing, comes some eight years after it was acquired for $5.1 billion by private equity firms TPG Capital and Warburg Pincus. In its filing, Neiman Marcus indicated a desire to expand its outlet center concept, Last Call, which currently operates 35 locations.

China -- China once again topped the A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Retail Apparel Index, which measures the market readiness of developing economies for international apparel retailers to enter. Other compelling expansion opportunities are offered by a number of countries from Latin America and the Middle East.

Washington, D.C. -- Combined Properties and its joint venture partner Saban Capital Group have acquired The Terraces, a 173,000-sq.-ft. community shopping center in Rancho Palos Verdes, a suburb of Los Angeles. Spread across three terraced levels, center retailers include Trader Joe’s, Marshalls, LA Fitness and Starlight Cinemas.

The joint venture between Combined Properties and Saban Capital Group is assembling a $200 million portfolio of value-add retail centers in Southern California and the Washington, D.C., metro market.

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- Coldwater Creek has deployed Oracle Retail’s suite of integrated merchandise planning and optimization solutions as part of a strategic initiative to increase full-price selling and improve the productivity and profitability of store, online and catalog channels. The women’s apparel retailer is using the new planning solutions to reduce aged inventory and ensure that popular items are consistently in stock.