News

Despite reporting a 33% year-over-year decline in profits during the third quarter, Pier 1 Imports CEO Alex Smith said he is confident in the chain’s value proposition going forward in 2015.

Calvin Klein is aggressively expanding its e-commerce capabilities in an effort to directly sell the brand in more than 20 countries by the end of 2016, the company announced.

The urge to impulse-shop during the holidays runs strong among Americans, but even stronger among a particular age group, according to a new survey.

About 83% of Millennials admit to having made an impulse purchase in the past, according to the Chase Blueprint Holiday Impulse Purchases Survey. And when they shop online or on pay day, this urge exceeds that of all other age groups.

Time and again in 2014 the vulnerability of retailers’ information systems became apparent with Staples the latest major chain forced to admit an inability to protect customers’ personal information.

Now Staples has released more information about its data breach in September.

Office Depot has been awarded two contracts valued in excess of $400 million.

The retailer will be partnering with Region 4 Education Service Center and TCPN, which offers cooperative contract solutions to K-12 schools, local governments, colleges and universities. The new agreements with Office Depot include office and school supplies, furniture, technology products and copy and print services provided at significant discounts and savings to eligible public agency customers.

Embattled retailer American Apparel Inc. is restructuring its board amid rumors that the company is evaluating an offer to sell itself at a hefty premium.

The company, which recently ousted its chief executive and founder Dov Charney, announced that Allan Mayer and David Danziger have stepped down as co-chairmen of the board and will be replaced by board member Colleen B. Brown as chairperson. Mayer and Danziger will continue to serve as members of the board and will retain their positions as chairs of the compensation and audit committees, respectively.

Belk Inc. has renewed its agreement with eBay Enterprise to manage multi-site customer support.

Belk first partnered with eBay Enterprise in 2008 with the launch of Belk.com. Since then, Belk has increased its online business significantly and eBay Enterprise has continued to support that growth by providing customer sales and service solutions through various contact channels.

Little known food retailer Haggen Northwest Fresh will grow its store base more than 800% following a Federal Trade Commission mandate that Albertson’s and Safeway divest 168 stores.

Few people have heard of Haggen outside Washington and Oregon, where the company operates 18 stores, but now the food retailer is about to get dramatically bigger and expand its presence to three more western states.

RadioShack’s former marketing chief is joining At Home, the Texas-based home decor chain.

"Jennifer's retail experience coupled with her strong agency background will serve her well in her new role," said Lee Bird, CEO of At Home. "We're thrilled to have added an executive with her prowess to our growing team."

Warren most recently held the position of CMO for RadioShack, where she was responsible for leading the marketing, consumer insights, private brand strategy, public relations and omnichannel teams.

Executives from The Home Depot, Warby Parker and Chico’s will receive top honors from the retail industry next month when the National Retail Federation convenes its annual Big Show in New York.