Retail

Digital BrandWorks has introduced a new diagnostic tool that lets product suppliers grade the representation of their products online and then develop strategies to optimize their presence.

After taking a look at some of the post-holiday sales figures, it seems like maybe I was a little too pessimistic. While the overall 2013 holiday season’s sales aren’t particularly impressive, they aren’t flat, either — which is an outcome that I had worried about.

Los Angeles — PizzaRev will open its seventh location in Van Nuys, Calif., on Feb. 7. PizzaRev is a Los Angeles-based fast casual pizza chain that fires pizzas in just three minutes. Founded in 2012 by entertainment industry executives Irv Zuckerman and Rodney Eckerman.

PizzaRev announced a strategic partnership with Buffalo Wild Wings last March, and Buffalo Wild Wings will open the first PizzaRev franchise location in Sprung 2014 in Minneapolis.

J.C. Penney scored its first positive quarterly sales result since 2011, reporting a same-store sales increase of 2% in the fourth quarter, which included the holiday season.

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) is encouraged by passage of the Save American Workers Act of 2013 (H.R. 2575) out of the Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday. According to RILA, the act is an important first step in changing the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) definition of full-time employees from 30 hours of service to a definition more in-line with employment practices.

Mississauga, Ont. – Wal-Mart Canada plans to complete 35 supercenter projects in the company's fiscal year which runs from February 1, 2014 to January 31, 2015. The company also will expand its distribution network to support its growth and will continue to expand its Canadian e-commerce operation.  

Sport Chalet’s digital strategy paid off in the third quarter ended Dec. 29, which saw online sales surge 22% from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

The company reported net income for the quarter of $1.5 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $1.9 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, in the third quarter of last year.

Pleasanton, Calif. – DD’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc., will relocate its Arlington, Texas, store on Feb. 8. The newly relocated store is in Four Corners Shopping Center.

Overall, DD’s Discounts operates 131 locations in 10 states, including 25 in Texas.