eCommerce

Dallas -- Zale Corp reported a narrower third-quarter loss on Wednesday.

Zale’s net loss narrowed by about a half to $4.5 million in the third quarter ended April 30, from $9 million a year ago.

Revenues for the quarter ended April 30, 2012 rose 8.1% to $445 million, compared with $412 million in the same period last year. Same-store sales increased 8%.

Indianapolis -- Hhgregg Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings jumped as the chain collected $39.6 million in life insurance proceeds due to the death of executive chairman and former CEO Jerry W. Throgmartin.

Throgmartin, who died Jan. 22 at age 57, served as chairman and CEO of Hhgregg from 2003 to 2009 and led it through a 2007 initial public offering of stock. Hhgregg said Wednesday it collected the proceeds from a "key man" life insurance policy.

Specialty retailer Brookstone has hired Stephen Bebis as its new president and CEO, effective immediately.

Prior to joining Brookstone, Bebis spent 14 years as founder, president and CEO of Golf Town, the largest specialty golf retailer in Canada. Starting the business from scratch, Bebis grew Golf Town to 57 locations across Canada and led the expansion of the company into the Boston market last year with seven stores.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy said its profit for the first quarter fell 26% amid higher restructuring charges and lower comparable store sales. However, adjusted earnings topped analysts' expectations and the company maintained its earnings outlook for fiscal 2013.

Best Buy said its profit fell to $158 million in the quarter ended May 5, from $212 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 2% to $11.61 billion, helped by an extra week, and sales of tablets and mobile phones. International sales fell on weakness in China and Europe.

MAVENEL, N.J.  — MIZCO International has introduced an entire line of universal tablet accessories under the company’s DIGIPOWER, iEssentials, and Travelocity brands. All of the new accessories, according to MIZCO president and CEO Albert Mizrahi, are designed to work with both the Apple iPad as well as Android based tablets.
 

Washington, D.C. -- With more than 60 million Americans forecast to own a tablet computer by the end of this year, retailers say tablets are driving an increasingly larger share of their web revenue. According to the 2012 Shop.org/Forrester Research Inc.’s State of Retailing Online survey, 49% of retailers say their average order value via a tablet is now higher than traditional web sales. Nearly three in 10 (28%) retailers say they are seeing about the same average order value from tablets as their website.

Las Vegas -- Crystals at CityCenter, a 500,000-sq.-ft. retail and entertainment center in Las Vegas, was honored with the International Council of Shopping Centers' (ICSC) VIVA Best--of-the-Best Award in the category of sustainability. The award was announced on May 20, during the ICSC's annual global retail real estate convention, RECon, in Las Vegas.
 
Crystals, which is LEED Gold certified, is the largest retail destination to achieve the Gold level.
  

San Francisco — Williams-Sonoma has appointed former editor-in-chief of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia’s Everyday Food Anna Last as the chain's SVP and executive creative director. Last will oversee all facets of the brand’s expression in the Williams-Sonoma catalog, on Williams-sonoma.com and in the brand’s store environments.