eCommerce

NEW YORK — DC Comics' costumed superheroes are heading to PetSmart stores in July. The specialty pet retailer will debut an exclusive line of DC Comics-themed pet apparel and toys for dogs by Fetch for Pets.

The licensing partnership between Fetch for Pets and Warner Bros. Consumer Products on behalf of DC Entertainment features DC Comics characters such as Superman and Dynamic Duo Batman and Robin. Along with T-shirts, dresses and bandanas the line also includes ball bodies, teethers, bottle crunchers and plush figures.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. - Sears Holdings on Friday joined the growing list of retailers and other companies severing ties with Southern celebrity chef Paula Deen in the wake of the controversy regarding her use of a racial slur. Both Sears and Kmart sold Paula Deen products.

“After careful consideration of all available information, we have made the decision to phase out all products tied to the brand,” Sears said in a statement. “We will continue to evaluate the situation. Our members’ needs will be given first priority.’

OMAHA, Neb. — Oriental Trading Company, a direct retailer of value-priced party supplies, arts and crafts, toys, novelties and school supplies owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has acquired brainy toy manufacturer MindWare Holdings.

MindWare is a manufacturer, wholesaler and direct retailer of what it describes as “brainy toys for kids of all ages,” based in Minneapolis, Minn. Oriental Trading Company is headquartered in Omaha, Neb. 

Columbus, Ohio - The Affiliated Business Group (ABG), a division of DSW Inc., will exclusively supply the footwear departments of all U.S. Loehmann’s stores and the loehmanns.com e-commerce site. The initial rollout of the news arrangement is expected to commence in a few stores starting December, 013 with the balance of the chain and e-commerce launching in the first quarter of 2014. ABG will plan, procure, and deliver the entire women's and men's footwear inventory, while Loehmann’s will provide staffing for the shoe departments.

WASHINGTON — Shop.org has elected six new members to its board of directors and re-elected three. Each member will serve a two-year term. 

The new members are Elaine Boltz, SVP of e-commerce, the TJX companies; Jill Braff, EVP of digital commerce, HSNi, Ivy Chin, SVP of e-commerce and omnichannel digital, Belk; Jason Goldberg, VP of commerce strategy, Razorfish; Kasey Lobaugh, principal and chief retail innovation officer, Deloitte Consulting; and Matthew Kaness, chief strategy officer, Urban Outfitters.

Price, location and selection fade as real differentiators

Remember when retail gurus used to say that when it came down to it, retail strategy was all about location, location, location? Location still matters, but not as much as it used to. With the explosion of online retail, brick-and-mortar retail strategies are changing. But it's not just location that has receded in importance. Price and selection don't matter as much anymore either.

Cloud technology opens torrent of customer data for Chico's FAS

Maintaining a wealth of customer data has become a primary directive for retail IT departments. In recent years, retailers have been making substantial investments in solutions that collect and store data relating to their customers' purchases, behaviors, preferences, demographic characteristics and almost any other traits you can think of. But after all this data has been captured, what do you do with it?