eCommerce

Prism Skylabs adds former Apple exec to team
Prism Skylabs, a global leading cloud service provider, has hired former Apple executive Cliff Crosbie as SVP of managed services.

Crosbie comes to Prism Skylabs after overseeing Apple’s global preferred reseller program. In his new role, he will be charged with growing Prism’s visual merchandising and auditing services

“I’ve never seen a merchandising or analytics solution as effective as Prism Skylabs,” said Crosbie. “I couldn’t be more excited to join the team.”
Holiday sales met NRF expectations
Despite severe winter weather travails during the holiday shopping season, the National Retail Federation reported that December retail sales didn’t take the hit that many feared.

In fact, taking advantage of heavy promotions and last-minute deals, shoppers were able to move the December retail sales needle up 0.4% month-to-month, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, and up 4.6% year-over-year.

Babies’R’Us shows off new baby bump

Babies"R"Us has entered into a strategic partnership with TheBump.com, a leading pregnancy and parenting website that offers advice, ideas, resources and support to first-time parents.
A mixed holiday bag for GameStop

GameStop reported increases in global and same-store sales for the nine-week holiday sales period ended Jan. 4, but results missed analysts’ expectations thanks to a greater-than-expected decline in sales of new game titles for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
RG Barry Brands bolsters e-commerce biz with new hire

RG Barry Brands has named digital marketing veteran Heather Richard as its director of e-commerce.

Richard will be responsible for strategy and management of R.G. Barry's online initiatives, including multi-brand direct Web store operations, online marketing and overall ecommerce channel growth.
Deceleration in traffic and sales cut into Lululemon’s Q4 forecast

Lululemon planned to start 2014 with a new CEO and flat comparable store sales for the fourth quarter. Despite being on track to hit its numbers, however, a significant dip in traffic and sales in January has prompted the company to cut its fourth quarter forecast.
Changes to Supervalu’s board

Supervalu has elected Gerald Storch as chair of its board of directors. The appointment comes after Robert Miller, who has chaired the boar since March 2013, announced his resignation.
Groupon acquires online flash fashion retailer Ideeli

Groupon has expanded its fashion and apparel footprint with its acquisition of Ideeli, a leading online flash fashion retailer, for $43 million in cash.

Ideeli was founded in 2007 and its members number in the millions.
Lower demand for firearms and ammo at Big 5 Sporting Goods

Big 5 Sporting Goods announced that their fourth-quarter sales results were affected by a lower demand year-over-year for firearms and ammunition products as well as a highly promotional retail holiday environment.

The company reported net sales of $248 million, an increase of 1.8% from $243.6 million for the prior-year quarter. Same-store sales decreased 0.5% for the quarter versus the prior year period.
eBay Enterprise unveils ship-from-store solution

eBay Enterprise, an eBay company and leading global provider of omnichannel solutions, has unveiled a ship-from-store SaaS initiative that retailers can deploy within 99 days to most effectively leverage their physical store inventories while gaining advantages in margin and shipping cost.

Prism Skylabs adds former Apple exec to team

Holiday sales met NRF expectations

Babies’R’Us shows off new baby bump

A mixed holiday bag for GameStop

RG Barry Brands bolsters e-commerce biz with new hire

Deceleration in traffic and sales cut into Lululemon’s Q4 forecast

Changes to Supervalu’s board

Groupon acquires online flash fashion retailer Ideeli

Lower demand for firearms and ammo at Big 5 Sporting Goods

eBay Enterprise unveils ship-from-store solution