Retail

Kroger has purchased the assets of You Technology Brand Services, a Silicon Valley-based platform of digital coupons and promotions.

Urban Outfitters reported substantial gains in net sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014, driven primarily by the company’s Anthropologie and Free People brands.

Total company sales in the quarter increased 6% to $906 million from $856.8 million in the year-ago period — less than Wall Street expected.

Residents of the Washington, D.C., metro area can now have products ordered from supermarket operator Harris Teeter delivered within the hour following Instacart’s entry into the market.

Instacart’s network of personal shoppers began delivering items ordered from Harris Teeter on Feb. 11. The service provider expects to add other retailers in the coming weeks which would allow shoppers to combine items from multiple stores in a single order and have them delivered in as little as one hour.

Counterfeiting and brand theft are crimes that have been given unlimited new life and opportunity online — they affect all industries and all major brands on a global scale. Recently the watchdog agency Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) put a $1 trillion annual figure on global losses from counterfeiting and piracy, with 2.5 million jobs put at risk.

CVS Caremark’s fourth-quarter results came in at the high end of expectations and helped produce a record year; however, one of the key topics analysts discussed was the company’s recent decision to stop selling tobacco products in all its stores by Oct. 1.

Shoebuy.com, a leading global online retailer of shoes and clothing, has appointed Anabela Perozek as the company's new chief marketing officer. Perozek joins Shoebuy's senior management team and will report to CEO Mike Sorabella.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, the company behind Keurig brewing technology, and retailer Krispy Kreme announced that the companies have reached an agreement to bring Krispy Kreme signature coffee to K-Cup packs for the Keurig brewing system.

The companies are set to launch Krispy Kreme coffee K-Cups in both Smooth and Decaf by the end of 2014. The packs will be available at Keurig.com and KrispyKreme.com, as well as select Krispy Kreme shops, grocery, retail and away-from-home channels across the United States.

Hudson’s Bay CFO Michael Culhane has resigned his spot following a leave of absence from the company. The news comes two weeks after the company brought in Douglas Scovanner as EVP of finance and accounting on an interim basis to support company president Donald Watros, who assumed the role of acting CFO.