Store Systems

Fort Worth, Texas -- Pier 1 Imports announced a 14% jump in fiscal first-quarter earnings on Thursday and upgraded its full-year guidance.

The company reported net income of $20.3 million for the first quarter ended June 1, compared to $17.8 million for the year ago period.

Total sales were $395 million, a 9.3% increase from $361 million in the prior year quarter. Same-store sales rose 5.9% on stronger store traffic and higher average tickets.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports saw “significant” growth in sales and profit for the 15th consecutive quarter.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s is easing the continuous integration (CI) process for its omni-channel initiatives with the implementation of the Qubell Adaptive PaaS solution. Available as a hosted platform, Adaptive PaaS provides Kohl’s with continuous application deployment, continuous testing and environment management. Specific tasks Kohl’s has executed using Adaptive PaaS include automating the front end of its development process, integrating with various technology stacks and providing developers with near-real-time feedback on their work.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens and Chicago-based solar developer SoCore Energy plan to build more than 200 new solar installations at Walgreens stores throughout California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.

This latest expansion will bring the number of completed solar installations at Walgreens stores to more than 350, making the company the leading retailer in number of solar powered stores.

San Francisco -- The trend to shop on smartphones is growing, with 71% of smartphones owners saying they shop using their mobile device, according to a report by Scava, a provider of mobile, tablet and in-store technologies. However, mobile shopping experiences fail to meet consumer satisfaction, as 88% of those who shop on their smartphone have experienced negative issues.

When asked about their biggest pain points when shopping on mobile, mobile shoppers responded:

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Tocata, a technology innovator in mobile e-commerce, is launching a front-end mobile platform for retailers which allows them to build immersive, revenue-driving mobile shopping experiences that can be deployed on tablets or smartphones, whether as apps or as HTML5. 

Cicero, Ill. -- The town of Cicero, Ill., and Wal-Mart Stores announced an agreement on Tuesday to build a Walmart Supercenter on a portion of a former racetrack site.

Under the contract, Wal-Mart will pay $7.5 million for 24.67 acres of land at the long-vacant and dilapidated Sportsman’s racetrack to construct a 190,000-sq.-ft. store.

Cicero will continue to own 10 acres of the remaining Sportsman's property, which is reserved for future retail expansion and development.

Toronto -- Hudson's Bay Co. said Tuesday it has changed the structure of its senior management, giving two highly regarded veteran retailers greater responsibilities. The company is moving current president Bonnie Brooks to the vice chairman seat and putting in Liz Rodbell – recently minted executive VP and chief merchant – as president.  Both Brooks and Rodbell are highly regarded retail