Sales & Marketing

Chicago – Specialty footwear retailer BucketFeet, which launched online in 2011 and entered the world of brick-and-mortar retailing with its first stores (called “studios” in 2013), is seeking to better understand studio shoppers. BucketFeet is partnering with store analytics provider RetailNext to help extend its brick-and-mortar service and shopper experience capabilities.

York, Pa. - The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. has named William Tracy to the position of COO, effective July 27. Tracy will have responsibility for stores, information systems, supply chain, distribution & logistics, omnichannel strategy, real estate, and HR.

While paid search and email marketing still top retailers’ lists of effective customer acquisition channels, social media has moved up the ranks to become an important tool for engaging with and attracting new customers.

New York - Rizzoli will open its new flagship bookstore to the public on July 27 in New York City's NoMad district. The 5,000-sq.-ft. space occupies the ground-floor level of the historic St. James Building.

Sam’s Club, Costco, Rite Aid, and other retailers have shut down their photo services to deal with a potential data breach.

According to Reuters, CVS, which also uses the same photo hosting service as the retailers named above, temporarily shut down its photo sites last week after noticing possible credit card data irregularities.

According to Reuters, some of the companies temporarily shut down the services after photo hosting service PNI told them about the breach, while others proactively shut down after reading reports.

Plymouth Minn. – Tile Shop Holdings Inc. had a successful second quarter of fiscal 2015, meeting Wall Street expectations for profit and beating them for revenue. Net income rose 20% to $4.8 million from $4 million the same period a year earlier, with higher pretax income compensation for increased expenses related to the opening of 12 new stores.

At a time when the future of the company is unclear, Belk Inc. is reportedly building another flagship store.

Rouse Properties Inc. announced it has signed a lease with Belk Inc. to open a new 237,000 square foot flagship store at The Shoppes at Bel Air in Mobile, Ala. Belk will be taking the place of an existing Sears, and expanding on its already integral presence at The Shoppes at Bel Air.

Brooklyn, N.Y. - Home furnishings retailer West Elm will open its first South Carolina retail store in the Charleston on Aug. 13.

The nearly 10,000-sq.-ft. store will open with West Elm’s fall 2015 product assortment, a suite of complimentary design services and feature crafted goods by nine local artists and makers as part of West Elm’s “Local” initiative.

The new store is expected to bring an estimated 25-30 jobs to the Charleston community.