Omnichannel

Teen specialist Aéropostale lent credence to the “malls are dying” voices by announcing the closure of 125-mall based stores and the elimination of 100 headquarter positions.

Citing changing shopping patterns among moms, Aéropostale said it planned to close 125 of its 150 P.S. from Aéropostale stores which focus on kids ages four through 12. The move is part of a larger cost reduction program related to a turnaround strategy that is expected to result in annual savings of $30 to $35 million.

San Jose – PayPal is rebranding itself in an effort designed to create a cohesive look and feel across the brand. The program includes a new logo and an omni-channel campaign called “powering the people economy.”

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart is working with Autoinsurance.com to offer customers in Arkanas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas an auto insurance comparison service. AutoInsurance.com provides customers with multiple quotes from national insurance carriers including Progressive, Esurance, Safeco, The General and others within minutes.

Wal-Mart plans to offer the service nationwide in the coming months. The launch of this service stems from a successful pilot that took place in Pennsylvania during 2013.

Chicago -- Mobile (including tablet), marketing and personalization were the top three issues that retailers will devote the most time to in 2014, according to the e-tailing group’s 13th Annual Merchant Survey. Omni-channel and platform rounded out the top five concerns.

The Container Store’s net income soared by about 800% year-over-year during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, to $18.34 million from $2.09 million. A substantial drop in effective tax rate, as well as lower net interest expense, helped drive the impressive growth in net income.

Net sales slipped from $217.02 million to $216.82 million, while same-store sales climbed 1.4%. The company cited severe weather as reducing sales.

Virtual Piggy’s Oink has appointed Trent Walker to VP business development for key accounts.

Walker has more than 10 years of payments and finance industry experience, working with many of the world’s leading corporations, including Google and Facebook. For the past six years, Walker has held strategic leadership roles within the financial services department at Arvato, the $6 billion per year division of Bertlesmann.

Irvine, Calif. – PriceSpider has expanded availability of its Where-to-Buy (WTB) services. Previously available in the consumer electronics space, the PriceSpider WTB service is now also available and in use in the home appliance, toy, automotive parts, sporting goods and consumer packaged goods markets.

Coppell, Texas – The Container Store increased net income by about 800% year-over-year during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, to $18.34 million from $2.09 million. A substantial drop in effective tax rate, as well as lower net interest expense, helped drive the impressive growth in net income.

Net sales slipped from $217.02 million to $216.82 million, while same-store sales climbed 1.4%. The company cited severe weather as reducing sales.