eCommerce

The National Retail Federation applauded a Senate vote to proceed with debate on S.743, an act to level the sales tax field for online and brick-and-mortar stores. 

NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay issued the following statement: “NRF applauds today’s Senate vote on the Marketplace Fairness Act and we commend Senators Enzi, Durbin, Alexander and Heitkamp for their skilled leadership in moving this legislation ahead.”


New York -- Saks Inc. says it plans to close its Saks Fifth Avenue store in WestShore Plaza in Tampa, Fla., on May 4.

Steve Sadove, chairman and CEO of Saks, commented: “This planned closing is in line with our strategy of using our resources in our most productive Saks Fifth Avenue stores. We regularly assess the productivity, profitability, and potential of each of our stores and may determine that a closing is appropriate from time to time.”

BOSTON, Mass. — Consensus and the world’s largest exchange company, NASDAQ OMX Group, have announced keynote speakers, presenters and special presentations for the third annual Next Great Consumer Brands Conference to be held May 1 at the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square, N.Y.

Toronto -- Holt Renfrew will open a flagship store in spring 2016 at Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga. The store, planned at approximately 120,000 sq.-ft., is part of the company's aggressive growth plan, which will result in a 40% expansion of the total square footage of Holt Renfrew's network.

In addition to the new Square One site, a number of Holt Renfrew stores will be renovated and expanded, with some completely rebuilt.

Indianapolis -- Simon Property Group announced today that, in partnership with Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd., it has opened Shisui Premium Outlets (Shisui Town, Inba District, Chiba Prefecture), the ninth Premium Outlet Center in Japan.

FORT WORTH, Texas — RadioShack has stocked its shelves at locations nationwide with HTC's most recent flagship smartphone, the HTC One.

To celebrate the launch, RadioShack will give a $50 Google Play credit to anyone who buys the smartphone at one of their participating locations by June 1. Consumers can also take advantage of the company's Trade & Save Program, which allows them to trade-in their old phones for as much as $300 toward the new phone and accessories, depending on the phone model. 

Chairman, president and CEO of Fast Retailing Tadashi Yanai is among the 2013 Time 100, the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. 

Yanai was the only retail and CPG company executive to make the list. Other notables with a connection to the retail industry included Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon, Paypal co-founder Elon Musk and fashion designer Michael Kors. The complete list will appear in the April 29 issue of Time, available now.

Houston -- Francesca's Holdings Corp. said Friday it has appointed Laurie Ann Goldman and Joseph O'Leary to its board of directors, effective April 17.

Goldman is CEO of shapewear brand Spanx. Earlier in her career, she held marketing positions at R.H. Macy and Maison Blanche Stores.    

O'Leary is EVP merchandising, marketing, supply chain and strategic planning for PetSmart.