Data & Analytics

Ottawa, Canada -- 360pi, a leading provider of retail price and product intelligence, announced a collaborative effort with SAS, a leader in business analytics software and services. The goal is to allow retailers who combine 360pi's competitive price intelligence with SAS' revenue optimization engine to gain full real-time visibility into competitive pricing to make more profitable pricing decisions.

Manhattan Associates is releasing new mobile and transportation management solutions. The supply chain technology vendor announced the new applications at its Momentum 2014 conference in Hollywood, Florida, May 5-8.

Cupertino, Calif. -- Voltage Security announced a new product integration with device manufacturer Uniform Industrial Corp. (UIC) that provides end-to-end data encryption for the retail payments industry, a key technology in light of the recent data breaches. (Chain Store Age will host a Webinar on data security sponsored by Voltage Security, “Lessons Learned: What to Do NOW to Protect Stores Against Data Breaches,” on May 13. Register here.)

The timing of the Easter holiday, which was observed in last year’s first quarter but this year’s second, affected Weis Market’s first quarter results for the period ended March 29.

The company's sales for the quarter increased 0.6% to $687.1 million while its comparable store sales for the quarter decreased 1.3% compared to the same period a year ago.

New York -- Chain Store Age will host a webinar sponsored by Voltage Security on the steps retailers can take to secure their store and online networks against costly data breaches. Speakers will also discuss key lessons learned from the recent breaches, and the latest developments in data security and retail fraud protection.
   

North Bergen, N.J. -- Vitamin Shoppe reported flat net income for the first quarter, at $20.5 million. Sales during the period grew 10.3% to $307.8 million, boosted by e-commerce strength, and same-store sales increased 3.6%.

“We are continuing to make investments in our omni-channel initiative to further enhance our customers overall experience," said Tony Truesdale, CEO.

The company opened nine stores in the quarter, including one in Canada. It said it plans to open 60 new stores in 2014.

New York -- John Mulligan, the interim CEO of Target, said he wants customers to know they can shop with confidence at Target. Mulligan made his remarks during a TV interview with CNN's Poppy Harlow (See video below).

Mulligan, CFO of Target, was named as the interim CEO on Monday. He replaced company veteran Gregg Steinhafel, who departed the chain as it deals with the ongoing aftermath of its data breach.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM has introduced comprehensive new security software and services to help organizations protect their critical data in an environment where advanced persistent threats, zero day attacks, breaches, and the financial impact on an organization continue to rise.

According to two IBM-commission studies, the average cost of a data breach increased by 15%, reaching an average of $3.5 million. The majority of companies surveyed say targeted attacks are the greatest threat, costing them on average $9.4 million in brand equity alone.