Omnichannel

New York - Kurt Salmon, Tyco Retail Solutions, and Mobispoke are partnering to enable retailers to provide a more cutting-edge store experience that includes interactive mannequins, fixtures and fitting rooms, as well as connected employees. The alliance is anchored by an interactive demonstration lab at Tyco’s Retail Experience Center.  

Seattle – In a surprising move, the second in command at Starbucks Corp., COO Troy Alstead, 51, is taking an extended, unpaid leave of absence from the company starting March 1. Alstead, a 23-year Starbucks veteran, is responsible for day-to-day operations of the coffee giant, a position he was appointed to in January 2014. He is widely viewed as a potential successor to CEO Howard Schultz.

Boot Barn’s efforts to expand its footprint may be paying off, as the western wear retailer reported net sales of approximately $130.5 million, compared to net sales of $115.4 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2014.

To simplify retailers’ IT environments while helping them deliver the commerce anywhere experience consumers expect, Oracle unveiled enhancements to its retail portfolio with the launch of Oracle Retail Release14.1. This release builds on Oracle’s strategy for the combination of Oracle and MICROS, as well as its retail offerings in the cloud.

Mandeville, La. -- Stirling Properties announced the addition of Whole Foods Market to the tenant lineup at Premier Centre, a 273,000-sq.-ft. shopping center near the intersection of U.S. Highway 190 and North Causeway Boulevard in Mandeville, Louisiana.

Scottsdale, Ariz. – JDA Software Group Inc. is enhancing its JDA Warehouse Management solution as part of its Intelligent Fulfillment strategy. New features include an enhanced JDA Configuration Manager, which delivers user-friendly, prescriptive workflows for faster implementations, simplified process changes and easier onboarding.

King of Prussia, Pa. – EBay Enterprise is expanding its network of partnerships with a global program that will allow retail consultants and other partners to advise, design and integrate omnichannel commerce solutions and services from providers including Magento, Isobar, EPAM, Infosys, Bridge Consulting Group, AOE, Vaimo, and Gorilla.

Solutions and services offered include retail order management, store and warehouse fulfillment, and customer care. Global markets where services are offered include Europe, China and Latin America.
 

Fewer shoppers were in the mood to buy containers last fall, as the Container Store blamed its third quarter performance on lower customer traffic.

The company said same-store sales declined 3.5% in the third quarter that ended Nov. 29.

“We were not satisfied with our comparable-store sales and are working to fix it. Traffic has been the culprit, as the average customer transaction was up 2%,” Container Store Group CEO Kip Tindell said.

But, Tindell added, traffic turned positive in the fourth quarter.