Retail

The phrase “massive data breach” is the last thing any retailer wants to see their name associated with, but when bad things happen to good retailers Target's response to the situation is a blueprint for other retailers.

Austin, Texas -- Shoppers with registered devices and retailer mobile apps made more store visits during the 2013 holiday season than during the previous year’s holiday season. According to data from mobile analytics provider Digby, mobile consumers made 29.6% more store visits during the 2013 holidays than in 2012.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney issued a brief statement on Wednesday saying that it was "pleased” with its performance for the holiday selling period, and reaffirmed its fourth quarter fiscal 2013 guidance for increased same-store sales. But the retailer did not provide any specific sales data.

While the vulnerabilities of Target's data systems were exposed during a recent data breach the company’s data centers were being hailed as a model of energy efficiency by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program.

Los Angeles — The retail availability rate fell 70 basis points in 2013, reaching 12% and reflecting continued net absorption gains, according to a report from CBRE. The rate fell 30 basis points in the fourth quarter, which matches the momentum of the first half of 2013 after a flat third quarter.

Charlotte, N.C. -- Bojangles' Restaurants Inc. has appointed Clifton Rutledge as CEO effective Jan. 24. Rutledge joins Bojangles' from Texas-based hamburger chain Whataburger, succeeding current CEO Randy Kibler, who announced his plans to retire from this role in September 2013 but will remain active as chairman of the company's board of directors. Additionally, Bojangles' has promoted its senior VP of company operations Kenny Avery to COO.

Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing on Wednesday unveiled the ECRM Data website, ECRMData.com. ECRM Data is an industry solution that offers turnkey solutions for promotional tracking and analysis functions.

New York -- Polaroid Fotobar will open an 8,500-sq.-ft. flagship at The LINQ, a new retail, dining and entertainment district in Las Vegas by Caesars Entertainment.

The retail format made its debut in 2013, with  three stores in Florida ( Delray Beach, Orlando and Miami). Upcoming plans include another location in Florida, in Boca Raton.