Retail

Chicago – Women represent $20 trillion in annual consumer spending, and that figure is expected to grow to $28 trillion in the next five years. According to a new report from email marketing solutions provider SimpleRelevance, women make or influence 85% of all purchase decisions.

New York – Soupman Inc., parent company of specialty restaurant chain The Original Soupman, is partnering with the Atlanta Franchise Group, a franchise development company brought on to grow The Original Soupman's franchise presence across the country.

Oakville, Canada – Tim Hortons is launching the TimmyMe app for Windows 8 devices. Unique to the TimmyMe App on Windows 8 phones is the addition of voice recognition software, which allows users to launch the mobile barcode payment screen on their TimmyMe app by saying, "TimmyMe pay."

New Albany, Ohio – Abercrombie & Fitch is reportedly rolling out charging stations for mobile phones and tablets in its stores. According to TheStreet, there are currently two Abercrombie & Fitch stores with mobile charging stations installed, and the retailer plans to roll out the stations at several more Abercrombie and Hollister stores by the end of the year.

Cincinnati – Kroger Co. reported a 4% increase in its first-quarter profit, helped by the addition of Harris-Teeter, which the grocery giant acquired in January 2014. Kroger raised its net earnings and same-store sales forecast for the fiscal year.
   
The company earned $501 million in the quarter, up from $481 million in the year-ago period. The payment of $56 million to withdraw from two pension funds negatively impacted Kroger’s net earnings.

Commerce, Calif. — 99¢ Only Stores has signed a lease for the entire 615,000-sq.-ft. Garfield Corporate Center in Commerce, California, in Los Angeles County. It is the largest industrial infill lease ever signed in Los Angeles County. In addition, the building ranks as the largest freestanding building to be constructed in Greater Los Angeles in the past 10 years.

JLL represented the landlord, KTR Capital Partners, the property’s developer and landlord, in the transaction.

San Jose, Calif. - VeriFone Systems Inc. is making its Way2ride sound-based mobile app for smartphones available to taxi passengers in Philadelphia. Way2ride enables Philadelphia passengers to tap and pay for cab fares in 1,400 of the 1,600 taxi cabs currently operating in the city.

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) have asked an appeals court to overturn a federal judge’s approval of a lawsuit settlement regarding Visa and MasterCard’s credit card swipe fees, saying it was negotiated by only a handful of merchants and would do nothing to bring the fees under control.