eCommerce

The word competition gets tossed around a lot in the retail industry as operators talk about market positioning -- who they do and don’t compete with. Oftentimes, companies will refer to direct competitors, but one thing about Walmart is that it has always tended to take the broad view of competition in that any company, no matter how small, who sold anything offered at Walmart was viewed as a competitor.

NEW YORK - Everlast Worldwide announced the signing of a long-term, direct-to-retail licensing deal with Sears Holdings. Through the agreement, Sears Holdings will have the U.S. license for the Everlast brand in their 850 Sears doors and the Everlast Sport brand in 1,325 Kmart doors as well as launching on sears.com and kmart.com. The long-term agreement gives Sears and Kmart the rights to the Everlast brand for apparel, footwear and accessories for men, women and kids. Sears and Kmart plan to launch the brand nationwide beginning in the spring of 2011.

According to a new survey from customer intelligence firm, Market Force Information, The Children's Place is consumers' top pick for young children's (10 and younger) apparel when the votes are indexed for the number of stores. The Children's Place earned 17% of the votes, while Gymboree ranked second (13%), and Kohl's and Carter's tied for third with 12%. For children 11 and older, Aeropostale was ranked favorite retailer with 17% of the votes, followed closely by Kohl's (16%) and then Old Navy (10%).

New York City -- Winick Realty Group announced that Smart Fashion, a national importer and exporter of women’s apparel, has leased its first retail location at 149B West 36th Street, between Broadway and 7th Avenue in Manhattan’s Garment District.

Smart Fashion already operates a wholesale showroom nearby at 1407 Broadway.

The 2,000-sq.-ft. store will focus on trendy junior sportswear.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy has launched its new CVS Express Photo App, which enables Facebook users to order prints from their Facebook albums without leaving the website, with prints ready for pickup in about an hour at their local CVS/pharmacy.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. reported an unexpected decline in fiscal third-quarter profit Tuesday, as lower demand for televisions and videogames led to a sales shortfall in the United States. The chain cut its full-year forecast.

Best Buy Co. said that its third-quarter net income fell 4% to $217 million, while revenue fell 1% to $11.89 billion. Same-store sales fell 3.3%. Results missed Wall Street projections.

Best Buy said it has cut its full-year outlook, as it faces stepped-up competition from online and discount stores.

Making your NRF Show plans? Don’t forget to allow yourself time to check out the Big Apple’s exciting retail scene. Here’ s a quick hit list of the city’s newest retail stars:

Washington, D.C. -- Tuesday’s report by the U.S. Department of Commerce showed a fifth straight month of sales gains in November for U.S. retailers. Monthly retail sales figures for November were up 0.8% over October and 7.7% over November 2009.

Retail sales excluding auto sales were up 1.2% over the previous month and 6.7% over November 2009.

Department stores were the big November winners, recording the biggest sales rise in two years of 2.8%.