News

Container Store chief Kip Tindell succeeds Saks’ Sadove as chairman of NRF board
New York -- The National Retail Federation announced that The Container Store chairman and CEO Kip Tindell has been elected chairman of the NRF board of directors and chairman of its executive committee, succeeding Stephen I. Sadove, retired chairman and CEO of Saks, Inc.

Tindell was elected at the Board of Directors meeting held Sunday during NRF’s 104th Annual Convention and EXPO, Retail’s BIG Show.
Body Central going out of business, to close all remaining stores
New York -- Embattled apparel retailer Body Central has gone out of business and closed its entire remaining store base, effective Sunday evening, according to attorney for the company Gardner Davis.

Based in Jacksonville, Florida, the 265-store Body Central Corp. had said earlier this week that it was "experiencing significant liquidity challenges" and was working with advisers to evaluate its options. With the closure announcement, about 2,500 employees lost their jobs.

Obama: With tech advances come privacy risks for U.S.

Washington, D.C. -- President Barack Obama on Monday proposed strengthening laws against identity theft, described as a growing problem that costs billions of dollars. Part of Obama’s proffered solution is requiring notification when consumer information is hacked.
Survey: Consumers want Internet of Everything-enabled retail experiences

New York -- The digital consumer has come of age, and a new survey by Cisco revealed that retail consumers in the U.S. prefer Internet of Everything (IoE) enabled retail experiences.
Survey: Retailers’ top IT priority is payment security

Boston -- Survey results released by Boston Retail Partners found that the top IT priority for retailers in 2015 is focused on improving payment security, and protecting the confidentiality of sensitive information.

For the first time in 16 years, more than 63% of the retail respondents in the BRP 2015 POS/Customer Engagement Benchmarking Survey indicated that payment security is among their top priorities for 2015.
Lew Frankfort joins Sycamore Partners as executive in residence

New York -- Former Coach Inc. chief Lew Frankfort has joined Sycamore Partners as an Executive in Residence, which will allow the private equity firm to tap into Frankfort’s retail knowledge, managerial expertise and network of industry relationships. Sycamore’s portfolio of retail investments includes Aeropostale, Coldwater Creek, Hot Topic, Jones New York, Nine West Holdings, Stuart Weitzman and Talbots.
Quiznos names restaurant vet as new president and CEO

Denver -- Sandwich quick-serve chain Quizno’s has named Doug Pendergast as its new president and CEO, succeeding Stuart Mathis, who resigned the company.

Pendergast joins Quizno’s from The Krystal Co., where he was president and CEO; he also has held senior executive positions with Craftworks, Church’s Chicken and AFC Enterprises.
Express finishes holiday strong; raises profit forecasts

Columbus, Ohio -- Express is lifting its fourth-quarter and full-year profit forecasts, citing a better-than-expected performance at the end of December and beginning of January.

CEO Michael Weiss said that Express Inc. experienced slowing sales during the first three weeks of December, but that its performance has bounced back since.

Fourth-quarter same-store sales are now predicted to fall 3%-4%; Express previously forecast a mid to high single-digit decline in the figure.
Tiffany’s holiday sales disappoint; cuts full-year outlook

New York -- Tiffany's holiday sales dipped 1% and the luxury jewelry retailer cut its full-year profit outlook. CEO Michael Kowalski said that sales in the Americas fell slightly during November and December, while sales in Japan remained soft. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region and in Europe climbed.
GameStop to stream video game content to mobile devices

New York -- GameStop announced that it will be an early adopter of the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, becoming one of the first retailers to use Azure to stream video game and promotional content direct to customer and store associate mobile devices.
Heinen’s and Symphony team on customer analytics and loyalty management solution

New York -- Grocer Heinen’s has teamed with Symphony EYC to adopt customer-driven retailing operations that stretch from shopper, throughout the store and back to the warehouse.
Hardee’s and Microsoft pilot customer self-order kiosks running on Windows

New York -- At the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & EXPO on Monday, Microsoft Corp. and CKE Restaurants Inc. (parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr.) showcased a self-order kiosk solution running on Windows 8 devices that enables Hardee’s customers to customize and place their own orders.