eCommerce

Dublin, Calif. -- Ross Dress for Less (“Ross”) will open a new store in Utah on July 19, in The Shoppes at Lake Park in West Valley City. This increases the number of stores in the state to 16 locations.
      
The opening is part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations for the year.

Together, Ross Dress for Less and dd’s Discounts currently operate over 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

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.

Schaumburg, Ill. -- Woodfield Mall is celebrating the grand opening of six new retailers this summer, adding to the center’s nearly 300 stores.

New and first-in-market retailers include: Lululemon Athletica, Arhaus, Camille La Vie, Uno de 50, 100% Pure and The White Barn Candle Co. These additions come on the heels of the recently added Garage, Sperry Top-Sider, Silver Jeans and the first-ever Ricky B’s Prime Burger House.

Plano, Texas – Mindy Grossman, the chief executive of HSN Inc., reportedly declined an offer to become CEO of J.C. Penney Company in May 2014. According to the Wall Street Journal, Grossman had been in advanced negotiations with Penney to take the reins as CEO but discussions ended for an unspecified reason.

Amsterdam, Netherlands - Staples Europe recently launched a number of improvements to its omnichannel shopping experience, including an upgrade to the look and feel of its key websites in Europe, including Spain, Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy and U.K. The refreshed user experience includes a new homepage, header and footer, along with horizontal masthead navigation, allowing customers to browse by different categories.

Visa has entered into a partnership with Borderfree, a leading international cross-border e-commerce solutions provider, to offer customers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan special promotions from retailers in the United States.