Store Systems

New York -- Chocolatier Lindt said Thursday it has opened its new flagship Lindt Chocolate boutique in the landmark Rolex building on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

The 1,245-sq.-ft. store features a comprehensive chocolate selection, as well as Lindt Chocolate Advisors to educate and guide customers through the full experience.

The new store represents Lindt's second Fifth Avenue location and heralds a period of growth and expansion for the company's direct to consumer business.

Grapevine, Texas — Ahead of releasing its first quarter results, GameStop said earnings for the quarter were 54 cents per share and that same-store sales fell 12.5%. According to the company, this drop in same-store sales is due to light demand for “AAA” game launches and slower-than-expected store traffic during the quarter.

The company has reaffirmed its full year earnings per share guidance of $3.10 to $3.30.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. announced that founder Richard Schulze would step down as chairman after an independent board investigation found that he had failed to report allegations of personal misconduct by former CEO Brian Dunn to the board's audit committee.

Schulze will serve out the remainder of his term as director. Best Buy said its board has elected director Hatim Tyabji to succeed Schulze as chairman, effective at the conclusion of the annual meeting on June 21.

News this week that Target would open its first standalone retail store offering its C9 brand of athletic apparel has the potential to be a big deal if Target follows the growth trajectory of another active lifestyle retailer.

Target’s annual shareholders’ meeting will be held June 9 in downtown Chicago at the location of a soon-to-open CityTarget store on State Street. The venue is an interesting choice that speaks volumes about the potential for the new urban format.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Despite dropping from the previous year, Kohl's said its net income for the first quarter ended April 28 was in line with its expectations. The company reported net income of $154 million (63 cents per diluted share) compared with $201 million ($0.69 per diluted share) a year ago. Net sales were $4.2 billion, an increase of 1.9%for the quarter. Comparable-store sales for the quarter increased 0.2 percent.

San Jose, Calif. -- VeriFone Systems announced that New Balance and Samsonite have selected VeriFone GlobalBay's mobile point-of-sale solution.

The solution is designed to make it possible engage the customer in a more meaningful way by untethering the store associate from a fixed location POS register to provide mobile checkout at the point of interaction where its really needed. VeriFone GlobalBay apps also provide store associates with access to inventory, price and product information, as well as customer purchase history and recommendations.

San Francisco -- Online retailer Piperlime, a division of Gap Inc., will open its first retail store this fall, in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City.

The 4,000-sq.-ft. Piperlime store will offer a similar curated assortment as online, and be styled as a boutique. It will feature a range of brands, from Fryle to Citizens of Humanity, along with upcoming, lesser-known ones, such as Tinley Road and Maison Scotch.