Store Systems

Bentonville, Ark. – Major U.S. retailers including Wal-Mart Stores and Kroger reportedly already have hardware to read PIN-and-chip payment cards, which are more resilient against data breaches than the magnetic stripe payment cards commonly used by American consumers. However, according to the Dallas Morning News, the hardware is largely unusable because customers do not have PIN-and-chip cards.

Brookshire Grocery plans to reduce shrink and improve in-store operations with Retail 20/20 reporting, a cloud-based exception reporting solution by Agilence.

"We needed a powerful reporting application to get the most out of our data and a team to help us drive it," stated John D'Anna, CIO for Brookshire Grocery. "After a six-month pilot, it was clear that Retail 20/20 was able to deliver a significant return on our investment."

The beach community locale served as the inspiration for Liverpool's new store in Boca del Rio, Veracruz (Liverpool is Mexico's largest department store chain). The design of the 301,389-sq.ft. store, which took top honors in Chain Store Age's 2014 Retail Store of the Year design competition, utilized the natural surroundings as a reference for the interior's organic shapes, color, textures and patterns, creating a space that balances nature and modernism.

New York -- Chico's FAS will launch its namesake brand in Mexico, through an exclusive franchise with El Puerto de Liverpool, S.A.B. de C. V. ("Liverpool"), starting with a stand-alone boutique at Perisur Mall, Mexico City, in spring 2014.

Plans for the Chico's expansion in Mexico include the opening of stand-alone stores as well as branded shop-in-shops in Liverpool department stores. The second stand-alone boutique will open in Villahermosa, Tabasco.

Irving, Texas – An Illinois consumer has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Michaels Stores in federal court relating to the retailer’s possible recent data security breach. According to Bloomberg, Illinois resident Christina Moyer filed suit in Chicago federal court on Monday, Jan. 27, claiming the retailer broke an implied promise to protect the personal data of her and other consumers.

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Tyler, Texas -- Brookshire Grocery Company has deployed the cloud-based Retail 20/20 exception reporting solution from Agilence, Inc. to reduce shrink and improve in-store operations. Brookshire Grocery Company operates 152 stores in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

Columbia, Md. – A lone 19-year-old gunman killed two employees of a Zumiez store at The Mall of Columbia in Columbia, Md., on the morning of Jan. 26. Media reports indicate that local authorities began receiving 911 calls about the incident at the suburban Baltimore mall at 11:15 a.m. ET.