eCommerce

Columbus, Ohio -- Express said Friday that one of its subsidiaries has entered into a franchise agreement with Fastco Commercial S.A., a retail franchise operator, to open more than 30 Express stores over a five-year period in Panama, Peru, Costa Rica, Colombia, The Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Milwaukee -- Midwestern grocer Roundy’s reported Friday that net income for the quarter ended June 30 rose 6.6% to $18.9 million, compared with $17.7 million in the year-ago period. Sales edged up 1.7% to $996.8 million.

Same-store sales dropped 3.3%.
 

By Craig LaRosa, [email protected]

A consumer walks into a store, tries on a pair of running shoes, and then hops online to buy them from someone else—10% to 15% cheaper. It’s called “showrooming” and it has a lot of businesses scrambling.

Bharti Walmart, Walmart's joint venture in India, has reportedly ended plans to start online operations and has fired Dippankar Halder, who was in charge of the division.

However, a spokeswoman for the company, according to The Economic Times, denied the reports and said that Bharti Walmart will continue to serve its members multiple ways, including through the e-commerce channel.

AUSTIN, Texas — Newgistics, a provider of small parcel delivery, returns management and freight shipping services, has acquired AtLast Fulfillment, a Colorado-based provider of fulfillment and warehousing solutions.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Sales and earnings were disappointing at Kohl's, but the retailer remains optimistic heading into the fall.

The retailer reported second quarter net income of $240 million, or $1 per diluted share, compared with $299 million, or $1.08 per diluted share, a year ago. Net sales were $4.2 billion, a decrease of 1% for the quarter. Comparable-store sales for the quarter decreased 2.7%.

STAMFORD, Conn. — Sam's Club has extended its relationship with GE Capital Retail Bank, a consumer lending unit of General Electric Company. GE Capital Retail Bank will continue providing the Sam’s Club credit card program to their Advantage and Business Members. GE Capital’s Retail Finance business, the operating entity that provides financial solutions to retailers to help grow their customer sales, will continue to manage the Sam’s Club relationship and service the account.

ROANOKE, Va. — Advance Auto Parts reported an 8.2% decrease in its second quarter earnings per diluted share to $1.34 from $1.46 for the same period last year.

SEATTLE — Zoomingo, the shopping discovery app that helps consumers find the best deals in their local stores and online, has launched a new "back to school" section that lets parents and young adults find the best deals for their back to school essentials, whether they are on the go from their smartphone or from the convenience of their home computer. The new back to school section is available both in English as well as in Spanish through a newly released Spanish language version of Zoomingo's Android application.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- ForeSee, a provider of technology-driven customer experience analytics, announced that it is working with leading multichannel retailer HSN to measure and analyze the customer experience of its mobile-optimized site and mobile apps with ForeSee's new Mobile On-Exit technology.