Store Systems

Boston -- Swirl Networks, provider of an enterprise-class beacon marketing platform, announced that it has entered into a strategic relationship with Motorola Solutions. The two companies will work together in the areas of product, sales and services to support iBeacon technology rollouts in large-scale retail environments.

This announcement follows the recent unveiling of Motorola's MPact Platform for Mobile Marketing, which leverages Swirl to power the beacon marketing capabilities for its indoor locationing platform.

Online consumer electronics retailer Newegg has begun offering its 25 million registered users the ability to pay for 10.5 million products using the bitcoin digital currency.

The new payment capability is being offered through a relationship with BitPay, a payment service provider specializing in the bitcoin digital currency.

Cupertino, Calif. – Apple Inc. is planning to open six new stores in China, judging by advertisements for store managers the company has posted on its Chinese website, Bloomberg reported. The company is seeking store managers for units the Chinese cities of Tianjin, Chongqing, Wuxi, Zhengzhou, Shenyang, and Hangzhou, none of which currently has an Apple-owned retail outlet.

London -- Displaydata announced Tuesday it was named a 2014 Partner in Transformation for Sears Holdings Corp. The company received the award for delivering Sears' innovative digital display technology that supports its Shop Your Way program in stores.

Displaydata's responsiveness, hands-on delivery and commitment to supporting Sears' deployment in hundreds of stores to date has built a strong collaboration and partnership between both organizations. The award was recently presented at Sears Holdings' 2014 Vendor Summit.

Former Best Buy and Advance Auto Part executives are the newest members of the senior leadership team at the 2,216-store Bridgestone Retail Operations group where chairman and president Stu Crum wants to do the unthinkable.
 
Crum wants to eliminate the smell of rubber from the company’s stores and see the Firestone name mentioned alongside companies such as Nordstrom and Starbucks during conversations about retailers who provide a great customer service experience.
 

El Paso, Texas – A 20,000-sq.-ft. retail center is planned to open in El Paso, Texas, this summer. The center will be constructed by EP Riverbend Development and real estate broker Will Brown on a mostly empty site occupied by a single liquor store, which will be torn down.

The center will be called The Substation and offer spaces as small as 800 sq. ft. for rental. Plans include outdoor spaces and seating and a closed pedestrian mall. Construction is set to begin in the fall.

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Meijer on Monday broke ground on a supercenter in Detroit, on the site of a former high school on the city’s west side. The groundbreaking ceremony comes less than a year after Meijer opened a supercenter at the historical Michigan State Fairgrounds in the Motor City.

New York - Nine West Group has integrated the LiveEngage customer service platform from LivePerson into its Demandware Commerce platform. The LiveEngage platform has helped Nine West improve customer-reported satisfaction and incremental revenue while reducing support costs.