Business Intelligence (BI)

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — Ikea announced that it plans to install solar energy panels on ten additional United States locations. Pending governmental permits, installation can begin this winter, with completion expected in summer 2012, the company said. Collectively, the nine stores and one distribution center will total 10.7 Megawatts (MW) of solar generating capacity, nearly 45,360 panels, and a projected annual electricity output of 15,248,334 kilowatt hours (kWh).

New York City -- The Conference Board Employment Trends Index increased in November to 103.7, up from the revised figure of 102.42 in October. The November figure is up 6.4% from the same month a year ago.

Warrendale, Pa. -- Rue21 has begun to implement assortment planning software from Maple Lake Ltd. The technology has the potential to reduce markdowns and increase profitability by allowing the company to constantly monitor and assort the newest trends for girls and guys between its store locations, Maple Lake said.

Pam Kohn and Cameron Geiger are the headliners at this year’s annual luncheon for the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the Retail Link Users Group also known as the nwaRLUG.

Organizers of the event expect upward of 800 people will attend the 13th annual affair, which couldn’t take place at a more opportune time considering the heightened emphasis Walmart has placed on store level execution and on-shelf availability as the only metric that matters when it comes to assessing in-stock.

Dallas -- Venture Commercial Real Estate said it represented L.A. Fitness in the completion of a long-term lease for a 50,000-sq.-ft. facility in the new Cityville at Cityplace mixed-use development, under construction in Dallas.

“Urban infill presents a challenge as we expand to open new clubs in densely populated areas such as Dallas’ Uptown neighborhood,” said John Gabriel, senior VP real estate for LA Fitness.

Venture Commercial has helped L.A. Fitness secure 27 locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — The nation’s leading warehouse club operator maintained its momentum in November by posting a 6% increase in same-store sales at U.S. clubs excluding the beneficial effect of higher year-over-year gas prices.

San Bruno, Calif. -- A report released Thursday by email and cross-channel marketing solution provider Responsys found that promotional email marketing volume during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend hit an all-time high, helping to drive significant increases in online sales.

New York City -- Cross-channel merchandise planning and assortment solution provider 7thonline said Thursday that sports brand Oakley has selected 7thonline Merchandise and Assortment Management to increase the productivity of its inventory and merchandising process.

The solution includes merchandise financial planning, visual and analytical assortment planning, in-season OTB management and forecasting, and embedded business intelligence, based on powerful optimization engines.