Data & Analytics

San Diego -- Walmart has completed its 100th solar installation in California, at a store on College Avenue in San Diego. After launching its solar pilot program in May 2007, Walmart strengthened its commitment to renewable energy in the state of California last year when it announced plans to expand its solar portfolio to more than 75% of its stores in California, approximately 130 stores, by the end of 2013. There are now 100 Walmart stores and Sam's Clubs in California using traditional and thin film solar installations.

Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin' Brands Group, the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, announced the appointment of Jack Clare to the position of CIO. He previously served as VP, IT and CIO, Yum! Restaurants International, the largest division of Yum! Brands.

In his role at Dunkin' Brands, Clare will be responsible for directing all information technology resources, with a focus on supporting the company's franchisee community to drive restaurant profitability through technology.

New York -- Modell's Sporting Goods has added a mobile component to its MVP loyalty program. The sporting goods retailer is using Key Ring Reward Cards’ mobile coupon and customer acquisition platform to introduce mobile into its loyalty marketing mix for its 150 retail locations.

Birmingham, Ala. -- Books-A-Million has named Michael Rediker as corporate development analyst. Rediker will be responsible for identifying, analyzing and implementing strategic corporate initiatives within the organization, including new business growth opportunities.

Rediker was most recently with the investment banking firm Paces Battle Group Inc. where he also provided a broad array of transactional and other corporate finance services to bank and thrift clients.

Roswell, Ga. -- PGA Tour Superstore announced plans to open a location in Paramus, N.J. The store, scheduled to open later this year, is PGA Tour’s 15th location.

The PGA superstores are owned and operated by Golf & Tennis Pro Shop, whose controlling owner and chairman is Arthur M. Blank, retired Home Depot co-founder and owner of the Atlanta Falcons.

Newport Beach, Calif. -- JustEnough Software, a provider of demand management solutions for retailers, distributors and brand owners worldwide, announced that Five Below has selected its merchandise financial planning solution.

Pittsburgh -- First Insight, which provides predictive analytics generated from online consumer engagements, announced an agreement with The Limited. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The First Insight solution uses online social engagement tools to gather real-time preference, pricing and sentiment data on new products. This information is filtered through First Insight’s predictive analytic models to determine which products present the greatest opportunity.

Burlington, Mass. -- OrderMotion, a web-based platform for direct-to-consumer (D2C) campaign and order management, announced that Midwest consumer goods retailer Alco Stores selected OrderMotion's OMX platform as the back-office technology best suited to grow with its online volume demands while also leveraging its Magento eCommerce front-end system.  

Minneapolis -- Supervalu Inc. said on Monday that its chairman Wayne Sales has been named president and CEO. He replaces Craig Herkert as CEO.

MONTREAL — Toy manufacturer Mega Brands reported that net sales in the second quarter increased 13% to $94.5 million compared with $83.9 million in the corresponding 2011 period.

Toy sales increased 14% compared to the second quarter of 2011, driven by higher product shipments in the preschool and boys construction categories. Toy sales have increased year-over-year in ten of the last 11 quarters.

Sales of stationery and ctivities products were up 10%, the fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth in this segment.