Retail

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. announced that senior VP Robert "Pete" Williams plans to retire in May after 37 years with the company.

Williams, who began his Kroger career in 1977 as a management trainee, has served in his current role since 2007. Currently, he leads seven supermarket divisions. His replacement will be named.

New York City -- Online spending should increase by 11% this holiday shopping season, according to date collected by comScore. Already, consumers have spent $9 billion online in the first 21 days of November, a 13% increase versus the corresponding days last year.

ComScore is forecasting that online spending from the November to December period will reach $32.4 billion, representing an 11% gain versus a year ago.

San Francisco -- SolutionSet, the fourth largest independent digital, data, direct and local marketing services company nationwide, announced it has been selected by Performance Bicycle to be its direct and digital marketing partner. SolutionSet will provide Performance Bicycle with database management and catalog marketing services.

Indianapolis -- Simon Property Group has launched the Simon Mobile Shopper Club. More than 180 Simon malls will now interact with shoppers who want to receive news of special deals and events on their mobile device via text messaging (SMS).

When a shopper opts-in to the Simon Mobile Shopper Club at their favorite Simon mall, they will receive alerts on special retailer sales or events, such as Santa's arrival. While at the mall, shoppers will be encouraged to interact via SMS and even play text-in games for a chance to win great prizes.

Dallas -- Zale Corp.’s first-quarter loss widened as a debt-related charge hit the bottom line but a slight drop in revenue was offset by higher margins. The jewelry retailer reported a loss of $97.9 million, up from $59.7 million a year earlier.

Sales fell 0.7% to $327 million, from $329 million. Same-store sales in the quarter ended Oct. 31 fell 1.1%.