Store Systems

RadioShack has named a new CEO with retail turnaround and transformation experience.

Dene Rogers will join the company as president and CEO on May 9, 2016. Rogers, who will also serve on RadioShack’s board, previously served as CEO of Target Australia and CEO of Sears Canada, which he led to become Canada’s most profitable online retailer, according to RadioShack.

At RadioShack, Rogers replaces CFO Gordon Briscoe, who has been interim CEO since January when Ron Garriques left the post after serving less than a year.

More retailers are suffering data breaches, but the industry is also feeling an increased level of capability to deal with them.

According to a new study of more than 200 IT professionals from security technology provider Tripwire Inc., 33% of retailers say they have experienced a breach where intruders stole or gained access to personally identifiable information, This is more than double the 14% who had experienced this type of breach in 2014.

Wireless provider T-Mobile is launching a major retail expansion drive this year.

The company plans to open 400 of its own branded stores this year, according to a report by Fortune.

“We always just follow what the customer really wants,” T-Mobile’s chief operating officer Mike Sievert told Fortune, and customers, he added, have been “very clear” that “they prefer to do business at a fully branded store.”

Payments are no longer a means to an end for accepting money and finalizing a transaction.

According to a new global survey of senior retail executives responsible for payments strategy and/or payments IT strategy from payments company ACI Worldwide and technology analyst firm Ovum, “2016 Global Payments Insight Survey: Merchants and Retailers,” up to 81% of retailers view payments as a clear part of their business strategy.

Billabong is deploying an in-store sound and scent strategy to offer customers a more immersive experience.

The board sports apparel retailer tapped Mood Media to create a custom sound and scent strategy for select Billabong stores in France and Spain. Billabong wanted to reflect the “board culture” and values of the brand — youth, dynamism and fun.

Mood renews the strategy every two months to ensure it is kept original and that Billabong’s customers have a unique experience on each visit to its stores.

The word “big” is often associated with Walmart, and that adjective also applies to the discount retailer’s IT spending.

According to data from IDC, Walmart Stores Inc. spent more on IT than any other company globally in 2015, to the tune of more than $10.5 billion. No other retailer, not fellow large tech-focused organization Amazon.com, cracked the top 10 list.

Starbucks Corp. has been busy expanding its mobile ordering and payment services, and now needs to ensure the right support personnel are in place.

According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, the retailer plans to add 100 employees of all experience levels and skillsets to its technology team, which currently has about 1,000 workers.

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Barneys New York is employing technology to give shoppers at its new flagship in downtown Manhattan flagship even more personalized attention — and an experience that combines the best of physical and digital retail.