eCommerce

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) said Friday it is applauding the impending implementation of sales tax fairness in California, which stands to even the playing field between bricks-and-mortar retailers and online competitors.

Atlanta -- The Home Depot Inc. said Friday it will close its remaining seven big-box outlets in China and focus on Internet-based sales and specialty stores.

TORONTO — Target is bringing its REDcard Rewards program to Canada. The company announced that its Canadian customers will receive an additional 5% off every day when shopping at Target with its REDcard products, which include the Target Debit Card and Target RBC MasterCard. Similar to the REDcard Rewards loyalty program in the U.S., the additional savings - which apply to almost everything at Target - will be applied instantly at time of purchase.

GRAPEVINE, Texas — The struggling video game category should see a much-needed boost with the arrival of Nintendo's Wii U.

GameStop is wasting no time getting in on the buzz by announcing that it has begun taking pre-orders for the platform along with many popular Wii U games, including "Call of Duty: Black Ops II," "ZombiU," "New Super Mario Bros. U" and "Batman: Arkham City: Armored Edition."

TORONTO — Nordstrom is partnering with Cadillac Fairview to open its first full-line stores in Canada beginning fall of 2014. The company will lease four stores at premier shopping centres located in Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.

Nordstrom will be moving into space that will be vacated by Sears and then renovated at Pacific Centre in Vancouver, Calgary's Chinook Centre, Rideau Centre in Ottawa, with a new-construction store opening in Toronto's Sherway Gardens.

Dallas -- Fast-casual bakery concept Corner Bakery Café said Thursday it has executed a deal with a franchise group to open the chain’s first restaurants in the Pacific Northwest beginning in 2013.

Northwest Bakery Cafe, a group of restaurant operators that owns 95 Jack in the Box locations, is slated to open 18 Corner Bakery franchised restaurants in and around Seattle over the next seven years.

Seattle -- It’s official: Nordstrom is expanding into Canada. The department store chain on Thursday announced that it will open its first full-line stores in Canada, starting in fall 2014. It named veteran Nordstrom executive Karen McKibbin, most recently VP president and regional manager of Northern California and Hawaii, as president of Nordstrom Canada.

Nordstrom said is partnering with commercial real estate company Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited to lease four stores at shopping centers in Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Fort Worth, Texas -- Pier 1 Imports reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended Aug. 27 surged to $26.2 million from $16.6 million last year, prompting the home goods retailer to raise its full-year adjusted profit forecast for the second time in three months.

Total sales increased 8.3% to $367.6 million from $339.6 million in the year-ago period, edging Wall Street’s expected $367.2 million in revenue. Same-store sales rose 6.7% on top of last year’s 10.8% gain.

Boston -- City Sports said Wednesday it has named Edward Albertian as president and CEO of the 21-store chain.

Albertian joins the company from Trans National Group, where he was president and CEO. He has also served as senior VP retail operations at Staples.

Albertian's appointment follows the departure of City Sports’ previous president and CEO Jeff Connor, who resigned last month.

By William Dudley, [email protected]

We, as a consumer society, are increasingly becoming “mail-order,” or more precisely, online patrons.  Companies such as Amazon, Ebay, Overstock.com, and other specialty retailers are putting increased pressure on traditional brick and mortar shops by offering customers mobile-friendly apps and browsers, adding convenience to their shopping experience.