Store Systems

Satellite Beach, Fla. -- Lighting Science Group is performing an LED lighting upgrade for Villa, the Philadelphia-based urban-inspired apparel and footwear retailer. Villa estimates the lighting upgrade will pay for itself in one to two years, with energy and maintenance savings continuing to shave costs from its bottom line going forward.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- HSN will introduce a new way for consumers to shop with their television when it debuts Quick Response codes live on HSN HD during its bi-annual “Innovation Weekend” event, which runs Oct. 7 to Oct. 10. It will be the first ever retailer to use QR codes on-air.

FORT WORTH, Texas and DALLAS — Pier 1 Imports announced that it has, through a subsidiary, signed a new, long-term private-label credit card agreement with Alliance Data , a provider of loyalty and marketing solutions derived from transaction-rich data.

Sarasota, Fla. -- According to Brixmor Property Group, which owns the community shopping center, Publix is expanding from a 36,960-sq.-ft. store, open since 1972, and has redesigned and expanded in conjunction with the redevelopment of the center.

The opening of the new Publix store marks the completion of the redevelopment at Sarasota Village, which included improvements to the building façade for the retailers surrounding Publix, along with new landscaping, lighting, and an improved parking field.
 

Minneapolis -- Following a disappointing second quarter, Best Buy is looking to reposition itself as a tech leader with plans to hire more than 200 information technology professionals, with more than 100 new positions to be posted in the next several weeks.

Best Buy said Thursday it is looking to recruit skilled professionals from across the IT landscape, including e-commerce, business analytics, application development, engineering and project management.

By Keith Scott, VP for business development, Bridgelux

Franklin, Tenn. -- Tablets and smartphones are redefining the retail shopping experience and will be a $5 billion market per year by 2015, according to a new research report by IHL Group.

The study, Mobility: A Gutenberg Moment for Retail, A Threat to POS, found that the release of the Apple iPad and Amazon Kindle Fire have created price points and form factors for mobile devices that are finally allowing retailers to arm their associates with tools that will transform the in-store experience.

New York City -- Macy’s saw same-store sales rise 4.9% in September, and total sales increased 5.3% to $2.298 billion in the five-week period.

“We continued to see a strong sales trend in September at both Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO of Macy’s. “Our sales performed well both in stores and online. This underscores that our business remains on track, despite the persistently negative macroeconomic news.”