Store Systems

Just a month after activist investor Carl Icahn became Family Dollar’s largest shareholder prompting concerns of a hostile takeover, the company reported its third straight quarterly decline in same-store sales.

Same-store sales for the third quarter ended May 31 decreased 1.8% because of fewer customer transactions, partially offset by an increase in the average customer transaction value. Sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 were strongest in the consumables category, driven primarily by strong growth in refrigerated/frozen food and tobacco.

Mississauga, Canada - Comark Inc., parent company to three Canadian specialty apparel retailers, recently launched new e-commerce sites – Ricki's, Bootlegger and Cleo – on the Demandware Commerce platform. The retailer moved from a hosted e-commerce solution to Demandware’s cloud-based platform for a flexible and scalable digital backbone to support its growing, multi-brand, omnichannel retail operations.

Orlando, Fla. -- Nordstrom announced plans to shutter its store in the Florida Mall Orlando, Florida. Originally opened in 2002, the store will close its doors on August 16, 2014.

Kevin Mead, the former SVP, director of stores for the Children's Place, has joined the senior team at Aerosoles as EVP, retail reporting directly to CEO Jules Schneider. Mead will lead the strategic direction, ongoing expansion and operations of Aerosoles retail and outlet locations.

Aerosoles has brought in Mead to spearhead for the retail division the company’s growth strategy, following its recent partnership with Palladin Consumer Retail Partners (PCRP). 

Cincinnati - The Kroger Co. has published its eighth annual sustainability report, setting its first-ever water conservation goal and providing a progress update on moving retail locations toward "zero waste" and sourcing 100% certified sustainable palm oil. Since 2000, Kroger has reduced energy consumption by nearly 35%. It has 557 Energy Star certified store locations and another 517 that are eligible.

Highlights of the report include:

Dallas - 7-Eleven is celebrating its 87th birthday with eight days of free offers, beginning July 11. To receive each day's free offer, a customer must first download and register on the 7-Eleven app.

A customer opens the 7-Eleven app at the store and shows the member barcode to the sales associate at checkout. The barcode appears below the coupons. Once the associate scans the barcode at the register, the customer will receive the item as they check out.

Burlington, Mass. -- Demandware, a leading provider of enterprise cloud commerce solutions, announced that fashion and lifestyle brand Trina Turk is using the Demandware Commerce platform as the digital foundation for its commerce operations. Trina Turk, which re-launched its ecommerce site  earlier this year with the Demandware platform, is leveraging Demandware to provide seamless shopping experiences across web, mobile and other distribution channels.

By Mark McCurley, IDT911 Consulting