Data & Analytics

San Francisco – Pinterest, the social sharing network that many retailers use to promote products, is allowing users to share more information with their pins. Pins may now include data such as pricing, availability and where to buy products, recipe information and detailed information about movies.

So far, retailers including Home Depot, Anthropologie, eBay, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Wal-Mart are partnering with Pinterest to make more product information available on pins originating from their e-commerce sites.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — The TJX Companies reported increased net sales during first quarter fiscal 2014. Revenue rose almost 7% from the same quarter a year earlier to about $6.2 billion, while same store sales grew 2% on top of an 8% increase from last year. Net earnings totaled $453 million.

CEO Carol Meyrowitz said that a flexible business model allowed TJX to have a profitable quarter despite adverse weather conditions. “Flowing the right merchandise at the right time continued to be key to strong merchandise margins,” she said.

Atlanta -- American Sportswear, a Panama-based wholesaler and retailer that exclusively distributes the Tommy Hilfiger brand for most of Latin America and the Caribbean, is utilizing the LogFire extended warehouse management solution.

With the cloud-based warehouse and inventory management capabilities of LogFire technology, American Sportswear will manage its multichannel distribution network, retail store replenishments and in-store inventory management.

CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble has filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Ohio against CAO Group, a manufacturer and distributor of dental products. The lawsuit alleges that CAO Group is violating P&G's intellectual property by manufacturing and selling its “Sheer White,” “Sheer FluorX” and “Sheer DesenZ” products.

P&G is suing CAO Group in order to protect its investment in its technology and its Crest Whitestrips business.

NEW YORK — Target is the latest retailer heading to the Silicon Valley to develop its omnichannel business.

The mass merchandise retailer announced the opening of a new office in San Francisco that will allow it to work with technology companies in the area to create new digital and mobile shopping programs.

NEW YORK — D’Agostino Supermarkets is partnering with online discount provider Aisle50 to offer exclusive deals and discounts on national, local grocery and consumer packaged goods brands.

Bentonville, AR -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has installed eight solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays in Massachusetts.

The arrays contain almost 10,000 solar panels that Wal-Mart estimates will generate 2.8 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy every year, eliminating almost 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Columbia Sportswear is headed to the Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference, being held May 21-23, in Phoenix, Ariz., to share insights and best practices for deploying cloud technology alongside GT Nexus. 

Fred Pond, VP, CIO of Columbia Sportswear, and Kurt Cavano, chief strategy officer at GT Nexus, will share lessons learned from Columbia's technology approach to executing global procure-to-pay processes in which buyers, suppliers, financial institutions and other key third parties operate on the same cloud platform.