eCommerce

NEW YORK — Macy's announced that it will offer international shipping on its e-commerce site, Macys.com, to 91 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, North and South America. 

FiftyOne, a provider of international e-commerce services and infrastructure to U.S. retailers, has partnered with Macy's to implement the shipping process.

WAYNE, N.J. — Toys"R"Us announced that it will offer an exclusive collection of toys based on the animated short Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation, playing in theaters in conjunction with Cars 2.

Examples in the line include:

• Sheriff Woody 16-inch action figure dressed in Hawaiian shirt, straw hat and lei. The toy can say 20 phrases when kids pull the string on his back and plays Hawaiin music.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target last week announced that Target Canada has reached an agreement to transfer to Walmart Canada the leasehold interests in up to 39 sites, currently operated by Zellers.

Specific locations will be identified later this fall. Terms of this transaction were not disclosed.

Walmart doesn’t need a lot of help when it comes to growth, which is why last week’s announcement by Target to sell its larger rival 39 sites in Canada was a surprise. Walmart is on track to end this year with 333 stores, and on Friday Target said it had reached an agreement to transfer to Walmart Canada the rights for leasehold interests in up to 39 sites currently operated by Zellers. The sites are among the up to 220 possible sites whose leasehold interests Target is acquiring as part of a real estate transaction announced in January.

The most recent iteration of a pricing study conducted by Credit Suisse shows Target was 4.7% more expensive on a basket of items in Chicago and Dallas compared with 4% the prior month. 

New York City -- Stephen Carvelli, director of eCommerce at Chico’s FAS, was honored as Retail Executive of the Year at the 2011 Oracle Retail Excellence Awards. Carvelli was cited for his advocacy of cross-channel technology and knowledge of how e-commerce technology is applied in retail environments. Chico’s also was honored in the category of “Outstanding Achievement in Customer Experience.”

The awards were announced at the annual Oracle Retail CrossTalk event, held June 21-24, at Westfields Marriott, Washington, D.C.

New York City -- Limelight Marketplace, an indoor mall in Manhattan, is getting a major facelift. The shopping venue will re-launch in September as a three-story department store called Limelight. Renovation costs will total almost $4 million.

"We want to display Limelight as a 'fashion-forward' venue with sophisticated and modish aesthetics," said developer and owner Jack Menashe. "The restored architecture makes Limelight the distinctive spot that it is -- allowing for an exciting shopping experience.”

New York City -- Electronic Arts, the Redwood City, Calif.-based sports video game developer, will make its freestanding retail debut this fall, opening an EA Sports store in North Carolina’s Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.

The company is looking to open at least two additional stores in the next year.

New York City -- Macy’s announced the launch of international shipping on its e-commerce site to 91 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, North and South America. The department store retailer is partnering with FiftyOne, a provider of international e-commerce services and infrastructure to U.S. retailers.

New York City -- Massmart, now majority owned by Wal-Mart Stores, said on Sunday it aims to create 15,000 jobs in the next five years. The company also said it plans to expand its procurement of food and consumer goods by an additional $8.74 billion during the same period.

“Massmart intends to leverage Wal-Mart's global expertise in working directly with local farmers to encourage the cultivation of safe, high-quality fresh produce," Massmart CEO Grant Pattison said in the statement.