Business Intelligence (BI)

By Shaun Ryan, CEO, SLI Systems and Mike Hill, executive VP, Guidance Solutions

Target’s website was among the 50 most heavily trafficked U.S. web properties during August, according to comScore Media Metrix. The online measurement service showed Target.com with 26.5 million unique visitors for the month, which earned it the 46th position on the list.

PALO ALTO, Calif. — HP announced that its board of directors has appointed Meg Whitman as president and CEO.

In addition, Ray Lane has moved from non-executive chairman to executive chairman of the board of directors, and the board intends to appoint a lead independent director promptly. These leadership appointments are effective immediately and follow the decision that Léo Apotheker step down as president and CEO and resign as a director of the company, the company reported.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens announced Friday its 100th rooftop solar power system installation, marking the drugstore retailer’s continued commitment to sustainability.

The announcement of the latest installation, in Mason, Ohio, comes on the heels of Wednesday’s report that Walgreens would complete one of the nation’s largest solar energy rollouts, contracting with SoCore Energy to complete 90 Ohio solar installations – the first 53 by Nov. 11.

CHICAGO — In the wake of several surveys projecting how shoppers will spend this holiday season, the latest study from ShopperTrak expects national retail sales to increase 3% during November and December, while foot traffic will drop 2.2%.

ShopperTrak said its 3% holiday sales increase prediction follows 19 consecutive months of year-over-year U.S. retail sales growth, adding that the expected increase is moderate when compared with the 2010 holiday season's 4.1% sales increase over 2009.

New York City -- SAP announced it will acquire business-to-business (B2B) integration provider Crossgate, Munich. A leading provider of hosted B2B integration services, Crossgate enables companies to fully integrate and network with trading partners, clients and suppliers, allowing electronic data exchange with any business partner regardless of their technical capability.

Dallas -- Lucernex Technologies said Tuesday that Aaron’s has selected Lucernex’s Lx Retail to manage its over 1,800 stores in 48 states and Canada.

“After evaluating our operational requirements, we realized that we needed more than just a replacement for our legacy lease administration system.  We needed an integrated approach to managing our real estate. Lucernex offers a solution that will allow us to manage the entire store life cycle in one database and on one platform,” said senior VP real estate, Paul Doize.