Retail

Conshohocken, Pa. — CBRE and FAMECO joined forces in 2013. Together, the new entity’s all-retail service lines include retailer representation, owner representation, property management and investment sales.

CBRE | FAMECO combines the power of CBRE’s global platform with the specialized retail expertise of FAMECO to create a one-stop source for retail occupiers, owners and developers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.

San Bruno, Calif. -- Stella & Dot has selected GT Nexus to serve as the company’s end-to-end global supply chain visibility platform. The specialty jewelry retailer will leverage GT Nexus to help sustain its pace of business growth by standardizing processes and delivering visibility into the status of inventory from the moment goods are ordered through delivery to global distribution centers.

Minneapolis – Best Buy Co., Inc. saw its revenues for the nine-week holiday period ended Jan. 4, 2014 fall 2.5% from the same period a year earlier. Holiday revenues for the 2013 season were $11.45 billion, compared to $11.75 billion in the 2012 season.

Consolidated same-store sales only grew 0.1%, although online sales increased 23.5%. Best Buy cited a more intense than expected promotional pricing environment as a key factor in its disappointing holiday results.

Best Buy’s defense of its market share proved costly during the holidays as greater-than-expected price cuts caused same-store sales to decline 0.9%, resulting in significant margin erosion and a vow to accelerate cost-cutting efforts in 2014.

Total sales for the nine-week period ended Jan. 4 declined slightly to $11.5 billion, with the domestic segment accounting for $9.75 billion of those sales. While domestic same store sales fell 0.9%, the company can take some comfort in the fact that its online comps increased 23.5%.

New York – LLBean.com was ranked No. 1 in customer service among all major online retailers during the month of December 2013. According to the Stella Monthly Ranking from the StellaService customer service analysis firm, LLBean.com snared this honor for the second consecutive month.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. will reportedly testify about its recent massive holiday data breach in a Congressional hearing in early February 2014. According to Reuters, a Congressional commerce, manufacturing and trade subcommittee headed by Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) will investigate large data breaches and their effect on consumers.

Los Angeles – American Apparel has opened a newly remodeled and expanded store in Berlin, Germany. Located in Mitte, the central borough of Berlin, the store was originally opened in February 2007 as American Apparel's third location in the city.

The Container Store has kicked off a new purpose-driven marketing campaign focused on its values-based approach to business and conscious capitalism with full-page national newspaper ads as well as videos on the company’s new YouTube Channel.