Data & Analytics

Secaucus, N.J. – The Children’s Place Inc. and a group of dissatisfied activist Children’s Place investors, called Shareholders for Change at the Children’s Place, have exchanged accusations in a pair of open letters to shareholders. The retailer struck first with a letter supporting the election of its three independent board nominees, including chairman Norman Matthews, at the upcoming May 22 annual meeting.

New York - Digital interactions are expected to influence 64 cents of every dollar spent in retail stores by the end of 2015, or $2.2 trillion. According to Deloitte Digital's latest study, "Navigating the New Digital Divide,” this figure has grown considerably from 14 cents of each dollar spent in brick-and-mortar stores in 2012, the first year Deloitte Digital conducted the annual study.

The owner of Corner Bakery, Arby’s and Batteries Plus, among other national retailers, has acquired Pet Supermarket.

Atlanta-based private equity firm Roark Capital Group says Pet Supermarket will remain headquartered in Sunrise, Fla., and continue to be led by CEO Diane Holtz. Pet Supermarket operates 155 pet specialty retail stores in 11 states generating over $300 million of revenue.

San Francisco – Gap Inc. reported disappointing sales for April and the first quarter, hurt by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange and sliding sales at its namesake and Banana Republic divisions. Also, earlier timing of the Easter holiday, as compared to 2014, benefited the company’s March sales results and negatively impacted its April sales results.

Total same-store sales fell 12% in April, worse than predicted. Sales at Old Navy declined 6%, while sales at Banana Republic plunged 15%. Same-store sales for Gap fell 15%.

New York -- While most retailers are shrinking their footprints, Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) is doing just the opposite, opening the nation’s largest home furnishings store. Located in the new 433-acre Grandscape mixed-use development in The Colony, Texas, the two-level store has a whopping 560,000 sq, ft. of selling space (equivalent to about nine football fields). Including its on-site warehouse, the space totals more than 1.8 million sq. ft.

The majority of retailers plan to use gamification to increase engagement with customers, according to a new survey.

Brussels, Belgium – Belgian grocery retailer Delhaize Group and Dutch grocery retailer Ahold N.V. have confirmed they are engaged in preliminary discussions about a possible merger that could create one of the largest supermarket operators in the U.S. But the two companies said the talks may not result in any deal.

Cupertino, Calif. – Apple Inc. is reportedly holding discussions with Alibaba Holding Group Inc. and several Chinese banks to launch Apple Pay mobile payment in China. According to the Xinhua official Chinese news agency, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he is “bullish” on Apple Pay in China and thinks it could gain traction more quickly in China than it has in the U.S. since its September 2014 launch.