eCommerce

Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon was feeling pretty good earlier this week as he reeled off accomplishments and emerging opportunities during a presentation at a Goldman Sachs retail conference.

Simon appeared at the same conference two years earlier when Walmart was in a very different place in terms of its financial performance and its share price. His presentation this year was markedly different given all that has occurred under his leadership.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens reported August sales of $5.9 billion, a decrease of 4.5% as compared with the same month in fiscal 2011.

August pharmacy sales decreased 7.2%, while comparable-store pharmacy sales decreased 12.4%. In addition to the Express Scripts impact, comparable-store pharmacy sales were negatively impacted by 7.9 percentage points due to generic drug introductions in the last 12 months. Pharmacy sales accounted for 64.1% of total sales for the month.

NEW YORK — Popular women's magazine Cosmopolitan is leveraging its brand in the retail space by launching its first-ever fashion collection at JCPenney.  The collection includes lingerie, sleepwear, footwear and handbags, available now exclusively in more than 600 JCPenney stores nationwide, as well as on JCP.com.

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. — Jerry Cook has resigned as chief store officer of Hot Topic, the retailer announced Thursday. The resignation is effective Feb. 28 and because of Cook's plans relocate his family to Texas and pursue other professional opportunities.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The trend of doing away with layaway fees continues, this time with Kmart announcing that it has removed its layaway service fee both in stores and online through Nov. 17.

The retailer follows suit with Toys"R"Us, which said it would drop the $5 upfront service fee and eliminate the minimum purchase requirement for all orders created in stores through Oct. 31 and Walmart, which, while not cutting back its layaway fee, has rolled it back to $5 from $15.

New York -- Nine West has opened the first standalone store for its Vintage America Collection line. The store, in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood, reflects the modern bohemian ethos of the brand.

A new, kids-only sports store in Manhattan, Rookie USA, is utilizing the latest in innovative HD projection and audio-visual technology to engage and inform shoppers.

The technology, the Tensator Virtual Assistant, projects an image of New York Knicks’ player Carmelo Anthony that, at nearly 7 ft., captivates shoppers with its 3D look and feel. The image provides store and branding information, and even shares basketball tips.

SEATTLE — David's Bridal, a retailer of wedding attire and other nuptial-related items, has signed on to use Mercent's Retail software platform.

David’s Bridal is utilizing Mercent Retail to increase online sales, revenue and profits across Amazon.com and high growth comparison shopping engines, Mercent said.

Walmart this week modified a layaway program that had yet to begin after Toys "R" Us said it wouldn’t charge a service fee and lifted minimum purchase requirements for its program.

The layaway saga began in late August when Walmart said the start date of its layaway program would begin on September 16, a month earlier than the prior year. Curiously, Walmart also said at that time the fee to open a layaway account would increase to $15 from $5 the prior year.

New York -- A new, kids-only sports store in Manhattan, Rookie USA, is utilizing the latest in innovative HD projection and audio-visual technology to engage shoppers.