eCommerce

New York -- Sears Canada is letting go of 700 workers as part of a plan to "right-size" the operation.

The lay-offs will include 360 department store associates and about 300 distribution center workers, as well as some head office personnel.

Sears Canada, majority-owned by Sears Holdings Corp., has falling sales. It is also facing major competition by Wal-Mart Stores and Target, which is set to make its Canadian debut this spring.

INDIANAPOLIS — Lackluster performance in the video space ontinues to impact Hhgregg's sales and earnings results, causing the retailer to focus on more lucrative categories.

The electronics retailer reported net income of $17.4 million, or 51 cents per diluted share, for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2012, compared with net income of $22.5 million, or 60 cents per diluted share, for the comparable prior year period. 

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation is hoping to dispel fears that merchants are expected to surcharge customers for using a credit card as theoretically allowed under a controversial proposed lawsuit settlement with Visa and MasterCard being debated in the courts.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Shopko has completed the conversion of 163 Pamida stores. The move makes Shopko one of the largest U.S. retailers to serve smaller and rural communities. The merger was first announced one year ago this month.  

NEW YORK — A breast cancer survivor and her daughter have used the Internet to draw attention to an important issue and potentially create a new category of lingerie.

Debbie Barrett ad Allana Maiden hand-delivered more than 118,000 Change.org petition signatures to Victoria's Secret's New York office on Thursday, asking the lingerie giant to make a line of "survivor" mastectomy bras to help breast cancer survivors feel beautiful again.

New York -- Australian import Lorna Jane will open the largest store in its U.S. portfolio, a 3,000-sq.-ft. unit in San Francisco, in February.
 
The retailer, which specializes in fashionable yoga clothing, opened 10 stores in Southern California in 2012, and is now expanding into the Bay Area. Lorna Jane is also looking at locations in Corte Madera, San Jose, Palo Alto and Walnut Creek, as it looks to open 15 more stores by the end of this year, the report said.

New York -- The Container Store is expanding its presence in Florida with three new locations set to open in 2013.
   
The company will open a store in Tampa, Fla., on March 16. The retailer said the Tampa location is its  most requested city for a new store according to its Facebook fans. It will be The Container Store’s third store in Florida, soon to be followed by two additional store openings in Orlando and Boca Raton later this year.

Washington -- Consumers aren’t quite ready to shell out the big bucks for their loved ones this Valentine’s Day as much as they were last year. The 2013 Valentine's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey conducted for the National Retail Federation by BIGinsight shows only a slight increase in expected sales this year with the average person planning to spend $130.97 on candy, cards, gifts and more, up from $126.03 last year. Total spending will reach $18.6 billion.

New York -- Barneys New York said Thursday it will launch its off-price website Barneyswarehouse.com on Monday, following a two-week pilot in August. Merchandise on the warehouse site will be past-season sale items at discounts of up to 75% off retail, and will be used along with its brick-and-mortar outlets for liquidation.

Toronto -- Hudson’s Bay Co. said Thursday it has introduced a new three-tiered rewards program, partnering with Capital One Canada to boost the rate at which HBC shoppers earn reward points for shopping at Hudson's Bay, Thebay.com or Home Outfitters.

Hudson's Bay Rewards members will now earn one point for every dollar they spend on almost anything in store or online and, as they move up the tier levels, they earn more points per spend.