eCommerce

Beachwood, Ohio — DDR announced the grand opening of Seabrook Commons, the company’s most recent ground-up development project located in Seabrook, New Hampshire, a northern suburb of the Boston MSA.

The 380,000-sq.-ft. power center is 96% leased, anchored by Walmart, Dick's Sporting Goods, PetSmart, Michaels, ULTA, Famous Footwear and Five Below, and features a complementary restaurant lineup that includes Panera, Outback Steakhouse and Noodles & Company.

Atlanta – Aaron’s Inc. on Tuesday said it plans to close 44 underperforming stores in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 and continue other cost-reduction initiatives in response to disappointing core business performance. The electronics, furniture and appliances rentals retailer also revised its earnings guidance downward for the second quarter.

The company praised the performance of its recently purchased Progressive Finance unit.

If Amazon makes good on its guidance for the second quarter, sales during the period ended June 30 rose somewhere between 15% and 26% to range from $18.1 billion to $19.8 billion.

Chesapeake, Va. - Randy Guiler has joined Dollar Tree Inc. as VP, investor relations. Guiler, 49, is joining Dollar Tree after nearly 15 years with Tractor Supply Company, including leading Tractor Supply’s investor relations efforts for the past 10 years.

Prior to his role as VP, investor relations & corporate communications, Guiler also had responsibility for Tractor Supply’s treasury and risk management functions. Guiler will succeed Timothy Reid, 61, who is retiring.

Americans have never had greater access to amazing consumer electronics products thanks to eye-popping innovation that is translating to uneven growth and interesting implications for the holiday season, according to the latest sales projections from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

Welcome to CSA First Look, a showcase for new stores and formats. This inaugural edition spotlights the first physical store of  hot Internet start-up Birchbox, the 800,000 members and growing beauty subscription company. Located in Manhattan's SoHo, the  duplex-styled, 4,500-sq.-ft. store combines the hottest new products with beauty services and weekly make-up classes. Similar to the Birchbox web site, the store puts a big emphasis on expert advice and reader reviews, offered via the touchcreens and iPads located throughout the space.  

San Francisco -- Splunk Inc. announced that British retailer John Lewis is using Splunk Enterprise to deliver operational and customer insight across the retailer’s website.

Originally selected to search and alert on John Lewis’ IT infrastructure, Splunk Enterprise is now also used for digital intelligence through real-time analysis of data from e-commerce platforms to better understand purchasing trends, improve customer experience and drive higher conversion rates.

Leading footwear manufacturer and retailer Wolverine World Wide plans to close 140 stores in the next 18 months as part of a strategic realignment plan focused on strengthening omnichannel capabilities.

Most of the stores to be closed operate under the company’s Stride Rite banner. Sixty of the units will close by year end with the remainder to close next year, the company said. The disclosure was made in conjunction with the release of solid financial results for the company’s second quarter ended July 14.