eCommerce

Winnipeg, Manitoba -- Canadian denim company Silver Jeans Co. said Thursday it will expand its branded stores in the United States, and has created a new retail division to execute the strategy.

Silver Jeans Co. said it will launch the plan with a new store opening in early 2013, joining the only store currently open here at Park Meadows Mall in Denver.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported a better-than-expected 9.2% increase in first-quarter profit on increased sales in the United States and a strong performance abroad.

Wal-Mart earned $3.74 billion in the quarter ended April 30, 2012, up from $3.39 billion period. 

MINNEAPOLIS — First quarter earnings at Target exceeded a profit forecast the company increased last month after a strong start to the quarter.

NEW YORK — Kara Laricks has been named the first winner of NBC's reality competition show, "Fashion Star," and as part of her prize, the designer will launch an exclusive collection at Macy's that is available at 110 Macy's stores across the country and on Macys.com for a limited time.

"We are extremely excited to have NBC's "Fashion Star" winner Kara Laricks collection sold exclusively for Macy's," said Martine Reardon, chief marketing officer for Macy's. "This show has been an amazing

WASHINGTON — Tanna Dang, a boutique owner in Honolulu, Hawaii was awarded the top $25,000 prize in the National Retail Federation’s inaugural “This is Retail” video contest. Florida’s Kim Williams of The Polka Dot press came in second place and will take home $15,000 and Illinois’ Susan Kaufman will take home $10,000 for third place. Nearly 1 million votes were cast by the public through NRF’s Retail Means Jobs website to choose the contest winners.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — First it was OfficeMax, now Staples reported sales and earnings that were reflective of a struggling retail sector. The company reported that total sales for the first quarter of 2012 were $6.1 billion, a decrease of 1% in U.S. dollars and flat on a local currency basis compared with the first quarter of 2011. Net income for the first quarter of 2012 decreased 6% year-over-year to $187 million. Diluted earnings per share, on a GAAP basis, decreased 4% t to 27 cents from 28 cents achieved in the first quarter of 2011.

TAMPA, Fla. — Sam's Club has signed a deal with Triad Retail Media to provide pet care information on its website, Triad said Wednesday.

New York -- J.C. Penney executives laid out further details of their strategy going forward during the chain’s quarterly conference call with investors. The call followed the release of J.C. Penney’s first quarter results, when it reported a worse-then-expected loss of $163 million, and a 19% drop in same-store sales.

J.C. Penney said it would launch a new private label apparel brand, jcp, for both men and women. The brand is set to debut in August.

New York -- Dylan's Candy Bar will open its first West Coast location in Los Angeles, this summer. The 2,500-sq.-ft. store will be located in a historic landmark: the Original Farmers Market on the corner of Third and Fairfax.

“We opened our first store 10 years ago in NYC fulfilling a childhood dream of mine to create the largest, most magical candy store,” said Dylan Lauren, founder and CEO of Dylan's Candy Bar. “Now I'm thrilled to bring my love of color, design and the joy of candy from coast to coast!”

As part of Chain Store Age’s lead-up coverage to RECon 2012, to be held May 20-23 in Las Vegas, we talked with Jones Lang LaSalle’s Lew Kornberg about what his expectations are for the big real estate show. Visit JLL’s booth at RECon, Central Hall, C1001.

What are your expectations for RECon 2012 in terms of activity, attitude, priorities?