Omnichannel

Macy’s tempered its full year sales forecast after solid second quarter results and growing optimism around omnichannel initiatives weren’t enough to offset a slow start to the year.

Macy’s said sales increased 3.3% to $6.267 billion and same store sales increased 4% during the second quarter ended August 2. Excluding sales in departments licensed to third parties same store sales increase 3.4%. Profits increased to $292 million, or 80 cents a share, from $281 million, or 72 cents a share.

Hudson, Ohio – Travis Smith has resigned as president and CEO of Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores. Until a replacement has been identified, Jim Kerr, executive VP and CFO, will serve as Interim CEO of the company, while continuing in his current role as CFO.

The board of directors is undertaking a comprehensive search to identify a replacement. In his role as interim CEO, Kerr will partner with Riddi Kline, executive VP of marketing and merchandising, and Tom Williams, executive VP of operations and HR, to manage the business.

New York – Although Macy’s Inc. reported a 4% increase in net income to $292 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, from $281 million in the same period a year earlier, the company still missed Wall Street expectations. Leftover merchandise from a sluggish first quarter helped keep Macy’s profit growth down.

San Francisco - OpenTable, a provider of online restaurant reservations and part of The Priceline Group, has kicked off the national expansion of its pay with OpenTable feature with a launch in New York City. In addition to its new launch in New York City, OpenTable plans to expand its mobile payments presence in San Francisco, home to its mobile payment pilot which launched in February 2014, and to roll out the feature across the nation by introducing it in 20 cities before the end of 2014.

Outdoor equipment and apparel company Black Diamond named former Sony and Gap executive Zeena Freeman as president and eventual CEO.

The Salt Lake City-based manufacturer of outdoor performance equipment and apparel said Freeman would join the company as president, reporting to co-founder and CEO Peter Metcalf, who she will succeed in that role next June.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. – The Wet Seal Inc. is launching its new Wet Seal + Plus banner with 30 new stores opening Aug. 16. The stores are opening in California, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

Mobile commerce platform provider mShopper is facing off with Google over responsive web design, and is driving a petition requesting an amendment to Google's stance on the matter.

mShopper recently launched a new mStore designed to help online retailers drive conversions and improve sales using mobile devices. According to mShopper CEO David Gould, responsive web design will have an adverse effect on mStore and mobile commerce in general.

Gold River, Calif. – Specialty online health- and beauty-care retailer SkinStore is using predictive technology from Coherent Path to help deliver personalized offers that build long-term customer loyalty. The cloud-based Coherent Path solution is designed to enable retailers to understand the trajectory of customer journeys and deliver the products, offers and experiences that drive satisfaction, loyalty and customer lifetime value.