Business Intelligence (BI)

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples on Thursday said it will close 225 stores by the end of 2015 amid falling fourth-quarter revenue, increased competition, and a shift to online sales. The big-box office-supply category, which was battered by the recession, has come under increased competition from Walmart and other discounters and online retailers such as Amazon. Most recently, Staples’ rivals Office Depot and OfficeMax completed a $1.2 billion merger.

Los Gatos, Calif. – A new phishing scam is reportedly targeting Netflix customers and trying to obtain their financial and personal information. According to the Huffington Post, the scam provides customers with a phony Netflix log-in page that brings them to another fake Netflix page informing them their account has been suspended for unusual activity and providing a fraudulent customer service number.

Chicago -- Galleria, a provider of retailer and vendor category management solutions, is expanding into the Asia Pacific region.  This growth is part of an ongoing international program of strategic focus and investment for Galleria.

In addition to navigating the regulatory hurdles and adapting to a difference in consumer culture, recent initiatives from Galleria have included solution developments to facilitate new market connectivity in Hong Kong and other areas within the region.

New York -- Target Corp.’s chief information office, Beth Jacob, is resigning, effective Wednesday, as the retailer continues to deal with the fallout from its widespread data breach. Jacob has been in the position since 2008.
 
In a statement released to the Associated Press, Target's president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said the chain is overhauling its information security and compliance structure.  
    

Severe winter weather was unable to put a damper Walgreens’ February sales and overall second-quarter results for the period ended Feb. 28.

The company reported February sales of $6.1 billion, an increase of 5% percent compared to the same month in fiscal 2013. Total sales for the quarter were $19.6 billion, up 5.2%.

New York -- Verizon Enterprise Solutions has added new features to its cloud-based Mobile Workforce Manager solution and signed a resale agreement with enterprise mobility management provider MobileIron. Verizon's Mobile Workforce Manager, previously known as Enterprise-Mobility-as-a-Service, has been enhanced with new features that securely separate users' business and personal lives across devices and improve functionality for managing mobile applications, offering an overall simplified user experience.

Cape Town, South Africa -- South African retailer Woolworths has implemented MetricStream's Sustainability Performance Management Solution to capture and measure sustainability metrics and indicators around energy, water, soil, and waste management. The solution will also help Woolworths monitor supplier compliance with sustainability guidelines, and optimize the performance of the company's sustainability projects and initiatives.

Lakeland, Fla. -- Publix Super Market Inc.’s net earnings in the fourth quarter rose 7.4% to $422 million, compared to $392.8 million in the year-ago period.

Sales in the quarter, ended Dec. 28, 2013, rose 5.3% to $7.4 billion, from $7 billion last year.

“I’m pleased our operating performance resulted in another increase in our stock price,” said Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw. “Our associates— the owners of Publix — deserve the credit for this achievement.”