eCommerce

Staples has completed its acquisition of all the issued and outstanding common shares of PNI for consideration of C$1.70 per share pursuant to a plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia).

San Jose, Calif. - EBay and Sotheby’s are developing an online platform designed to make it easier for consumers to discover, browse and acquire exceptional works of art, antiques and collectibles. EBay and Sotheby’s will start by offering a number of live auctions that are taking place at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York.

New York -- Barbara Turf, 71,  former CEO of Crate and Barrel, died July 12, at Evanston Hospital, of pancreatic cancer, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Turf was named CEO in 2008, after Crate & Barrel founder and longtime chief executive Gordon Segal retired. She joined Crate and Barrel as a part-time saleswoman in 1967, moving to its corporate headquarters in 1974. Turf retired as CEO in 2012 and joined the company's board of directors, the company said in a statement.

Chicago -- RKF has announced three promotions for brokerage professionals in its Chicago office. Lara Keene has been promoted from senior director to managing director. Since joining RKF in May 2012, Keene has advised a variety of retailers including Allen Edmonds, Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt, Forever 21 and Fig & Olive, and currently works with Bareburger, Piada, Alexis Bittar, IT’Sugar, L’Occitane en Provence, Rent the Runway and Sam Edelman. Most recently, she secured a 3,400-sq.-ft. flagship for Zadig & Voltaire and an 850-sq.-ft.

6pm.com, the sister site of Zappos.com, which is owned by Amazon, is launching its first-ever live streaming fashion show and inviting the public to share via social media outfits inspired by the brand's top six summer trends: seaside sorbet, nautical by nature, athletic luxe, neutral notes, feminine flair and metallic madness.

The top 10 submitted looks will be featured in the Style by 6pm.com Summer Fashion Show, with winners receiving a $250 6pm.com e-gift card.

New York -- Another online retailer has made the leap to the physical space.  Beauty subscription company Birchbox has opened its first brick-and-mortar store, in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. The two-level store brings the company’s digital experience to life, with a big emphasis on new products, customer reviews and expert advice. It also offers hair, nails and make-up services and group classes on various topics. The first class, taking place the week of July 21, will focus on make-up contouring tricks.
  

Randolph, N.J. -- Retailers are behind Amazon in analytics maturity, according to a new research report from EKN Research. Eighty percent of retailers say they are behind Amazon in analytics maturity, and 71% of retailers perform either basic analytics reporting or none at all – revealing retailers’ inability to take advantage of the data that is available to them.
 

Los Angeles -- Kennedy Wilson has closed four retail and entertainment lease transactions in Hollywood, Santa Monica and Westchester. The collection of new leases carries an aggregate value of more than $3 million.