Store Systems

New York -- Best Buy Co. is laying off about 650 employees from its Geek Squad division, according to a report by KARE 11.

The report said the company is eliminating positions that service appliances and televisions in customer's homes. Best Buy said it is not getting rid of home service, but is restructuring it and realigning its work force across all service channels.

If laid off workers are unable to find another position within Best Buy, their last day will be Aug. 1, the report said.

New York -- Myers Group plans to install the QThru mobile platform, which enables shoppers to scan items with a smartphone as they shop, in its supermarkets. The company has been testing the system for six months at its IGA Ridge Supermarket in Snoqualmie, Wash.

New York -- Sears Canada will deploy CloudApps’ sustainability performance management software across the chain’s 122 department stores, 48 home stores and 11 outlet locations. CloudApps said it will capture carbon, energy and waste data from the sites, encouraging site managers to be responsible for reducing usage.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix is testing online ordering of its deli products in one Lakeland, Fla. store beginning Aug. 3. Through the service, customers an order custom subs, wraps, sliced meats and cheeses. Publix expects to roll out the program to 50 additional stores later this year.

Fredericksburg, Va. -- Youngstown, Ohio-based Cafaro Co. said that Ten Thousand Villages will open a new trade fair location at The Village at Towne Centre, near Fredericksburg, Va.

The 2,700-sq.-ft. store is located between Books-A-Million and Aveda Tulips SalonSpa, and is slated to open in September.

The Village at Towne Centre is the outdoor shopping district of Spotsylvania Towne Centre, a 1.7 million-sq.-ft. complex offering more than 120 department stores, specialty shops, restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues.
 

The customer experience is fueling IT spending like never before. That was my main takeaway from Oracle Retail CrossTalk 2012, which was held June 26 -28, in Chicago. The following are some insights and observations from a few of the speakers at the event.

Gary Penn, VP e-commerce, Quiksilver:
“Handheld traffic is growing exponentially, and so is the revenue. You have to address it. If you don’t, you are leaving a good part of your audience out in the cold.”

Greensboro, N.C. -- High-end grocer The Fresh Market is making a stand in California, as it prepares to open its first three stores in the state.

According to a Tuesday report by Investor’s Business Daily, Fresh Market has signed leases and begun construction on one store in Santa Barbara, one in Palo Alto and a third in Roseville. The grocer said it expects to open its first store in the state either late this year or early 2013.

DEERFIELD, Ill. and Camp Hill, Pa. — Walgreens and Rite Aid both reported declines in total sales for June.