Data & Analytics

Embattled teen retailer Wet Seal Inc. has defaulted on $27 million in senior convertible notes and related costs.

In a regulatory filing, Wet Seal said the total amount due is equal to $28.8 million, plus costs of collection, attorneys’ fees and disbursements.

The new year has brought new news of another data breach, this time involving fast food chicken giant Chick-fil-A.

Chick-fil-A Inc. confirmed it is investigating reports of potential unusual activity involving payment cards used at its restaurants. The Atlanta-based chicken chain said it received the initial report from its payment industry contacts late on Dec. 19.

Retailers are always looking for ways to operate more efficiently and it appears a similar philosophy is being employed by cyber thieves who covet their massive trove of personal information.

Just six months after being named chairman and CEO of Target, Brian Cornell is pulling the plug on the retailer’s 133 unit Canadian operation and will incur a $5.4 billion pre-tax loss in the fourth quarter to do so.

Target said it plans to discontinue operating stores in Canada through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Target Canada Co. and that it had filed an application for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (the “CCAA”) with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto.

Retailers set more online sales records this holiday season and that means UPS will be busy in early January.

UPS is projecting its highest volume for return activity will be Jan. 6 when the carrier expects consumers will ship more than 800,000 packages back to retailers and merchants. By the end of the first full week of January, return volume is expected to total roughly four million packages.

Pataskala, Ohio – Specialty apparel retailer Avenue Stores is turning its online customers into brand advocates by using ShopSocially’s referral marketing solution to generate referrals from its website users.    By encouraging users to connect with the Avenue brand on Facebook and share their purchases on social media, Avenue is driving word-of-mouth promotions resulting in a referral traffic that is converting at a rate as high as 28.48%.   

By Gregg Aamoth, POPcodes

By Gregg Aamoth, POPcodes

The statement  “class action for wage and hour violations” has become an all too familiar phrase in the retail industry. The issue is also a dynamic one with constant changes from year to year, and even month to month. The bad news is that the number of wage and hour class actions filed on a daily basis continues to rise. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the number of FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) cases filed in the federal court is more than five times the number 20 years ago.    

Lebanon, Tenn. – Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is taking a decidedly new-fangled approach to promotion. The casual dining chain has enlisted Nashville-based advertising agency Redpepper to create a holiday-themed social marketing campaign.   The promotion targets a younger, more social demographic with Facebook posts. Some posts in the campaign have received more than 10,000 interactions.