Retail

As senior editor of Chain Store Age it is my pleasure to welcome you to the first edition of our new Customer Disruption e-newsletter. Every other Thursday, I will be presenting you with content from the Chain Store Age website and magazine highlighting how retailers are using technology to provide customers with the type of seamless, personalized shopping experience they have come to expect.

Seattle – Starbucks Corporation’s profit in the first quarter rose 25% to $540.7 million from $432 million in the year-ago period, better than analysts expected.

Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 29, 2013 rose 12% to $4.24 billion from $3.79 billion. Same-store sales rose 5%, beneath Wall Street expectations of 5.9%.

Same-store sales in the Americas region also rose 5%, while analysts had expected a 6.4% increase.

Cary, N.C. – The Pantry has confirmed that JCP Investment Management, LLC, and Lone Star Value Management, LLC (“the dissident group”) submitted a notice of intent to nominate director candidates to stand for election to The Pantry’s board of directors at the company's 2014 annual meeting of stockholders.

Atlanta – The Home Depot has acquired Houston-based window coverings retailer Blinds.com. As The Home Depot continues to implement its interconnected retail strategy, the company will work with Blinds.com to expand its technology into Homedepot.com and the company's stores with the goal of improving the entire end-to-end buying process for window coverings.

The Blinds.com management team and staff will remain intact at its headquarters in Houston. The acquisition closed Jan. 23 and terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Giant Eagle is making a push into Indiana with a Market District concept and GetGo, a convenience store, planned just outside of Indianapolis, according to published reports.

According to reports, it will be the first Giant Eagle store in the state, and additional stores in the metro area might follow.

“We are thrilled to bring our Market District and GetGo concepts to Carmel and greater Indianapolis,” Giant Eagle CEO Laura Karet said in a statement. “We are also actively evaluating opportunities for additional locations.”

New York — Le Pain Quotidien has leased a 3,100-sq.-ft. retail location at 1006 First Avenue, on the northeast corner of East 55th Street. A former Chase Bank location, the site offers 65 ft. of frontage set slightly above street level, allowing for excellent visibility and signage.

Le Pain Quotidien, an organic bakery and communal table restaurant, has more than 200 locations on five continents.

The Home Depot has acquired Blinds.com, the Houston-based online window coverings retailer.

In explaining the appeal of the partnership, Home Depot cited Blinds.com's integrated user experience, on-demand staff and knowledge base.

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