eCommerce

Philadelphia — Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust has executed leases with Retail Group of America to bring three international brands F&F, Flormar and SuiteBlanco to the Patrick Henry Mall in Newport News, Virginia. The transactions illustrate PREIT’s strategy for improving portfolio performance by seeking out emerging, first-to-market options.

The commerce technology and marketing arm of eBay has a new president. Craig Hayman, a 15-year veteran of IBM, has been named the head of eBay enterprise.

“Technology continues to have a significant impact on the overall commerce landscape,” eBay’s President and CEO John Donahoe said. “Craig’s experience will enhance our ability to serve retailers and brands in this online to offine world.”

Merrimack, N.H. – A bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware, has approved the June 4 sale of Brookstone Inc. to Hong Kong-based Sailing Innovation (US) Inc., a consortium led by Sailing Capital Overseas Investment Fund LP with a financing commitment from GE Capital. Backers of the $174 million acquisition include Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group and Chinese government-supported Shanghai Investment Group.

Framingham, Mass. - Staples Inc. is offering a new back-to-school 110% price match guarantee. Starting June 29, Staples customers are guaranteed to pay the lowest price every time they shop in store or online. Staples will price match items sold and shipped by Amazon.com or any retailer who sells products in both retail stores and online under the same brand.

Personalization, localization, interaction, “limited edition” retail and store experience. These are the top priorities — to varying degrees — for retailers as they look to bridge the divide between online and offline retail in the physical space. Here’s a look at how it plays out in three new stores:

Sporting goods and apparel retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors has renewed multi-year contracts with Auburn University and the University of Alabama. The renewal means that it will continue to sell the universities’ licensed products in its 13 Alabama stores.
 
The retailer is currently an official sponsor of University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide and official sporting goods retailer for Auburn University’s Tigers, and has been working with the two universities for several years.
 

Believe it or not (and I can barely believe it myself), the critical back-to-school period at the end of summer is right around the corner. While back-to-school is always big for retailers, this year’s period could be an especially important one, as 2014 has been underwhelming so far.

Walgreens reported a 16% year-over-year jump in third quarter profit, but was forced to withdraw its previously issued fiscal 2016 guidance because it missed Wall Street estimates.

The company’s net earnings for the quarter were $722 million compared to $624 million in the prior-year period. Net sales increased 6% to $19.4 billion from $18.3 billion, while same-store sales increased 4.8%.