eCommerce

ST. LOUIS — Build-A-Bear Workshop’s board of directors has appointed Sharon Price John as CEO and chief president bear. She replaces Maxine Clark, who announced earlier this year her plans to retire from her chief executive bear position. 

Clark will remain a member of the board. 

CHICAGO — Retail technology company ShopperTrak has acquired RapidBlue Solutions Oy, a leading European provider of retail data and analytics. 

Tokyo -- A Sunday report by Bloomberg said that 7-Eleven parent Seven & I Holdings Co. is planning more acquisitions here and may more than double the number of c-store stores it operates in North America.

The company “could increase our store number to 20,000 or even 30,000 [in North America],” chairman Toshifumi Suzuki told Bloomberg in an interview.  7-Eleven currently has more than 8,000 convenience stores in North America.

No time-frame for the planned expansion has been defined.

Los Angeles -- Sport Chalet is using technology to reach out to high school teams and their fans. A new portal on the sporting goods and apparel retailer’s e-commerce site is specifically designed to allow the creation of team-focused online retail hubs. Schools can create their own logo design to brand each individual hub and also offer customized goods and shipping options, including direct shipment to customer homes as well as pick-up at a local Sport Chalet store or at the school. The portal is built on the KitOrder specialty team e-commerce platform.

The world of e-commerce is gearing up for the 9th annual Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition, which will be held at Chicago’s McCormick Place West from June 4-7. This year's theme is "Breaking Barriers."

New York -- Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. is on a roll. The white-hot luxury fashion and accessories company plans to open up to 50 stores in North America in its current fiscal year, plus additional units in Europe and the Far East. Michael Kors currently has 44 stores in Europe, with another 40 planned for its new fiscal year. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Genesco, a specialty footwear and apparel retailer operating numerous brick-and-mortar and online retail brands including Journeys and Lids.com, reported declines in earnings and net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2014.

The company’s earnings declined 11% to $18.5 million from $20.8.

Net sales decreased 1.5% to $591 million from $600 million. Same-store sales fell 4%. Earnings remained slightly ahead of the company’s expectations.

LONDON — Boticca.com, a London-based global jewelry and accessories boutique, has partnered with U.S. start-up Olapic to encourage its customers to be fashion models — modeling the boutique's merchandise — via the popular app Instagram.

The boutique will showcase users' Instagram photos and regular photography in its online gallery.