News

The app imoji, which allows users to create emoji characters from photos, announced Wednesday that it had secured $2 million in venture funds from Joe Lacob and Goodwater Capital. The app has been available in Apple’s app store for less than a month.

Dove, in partnership with E! Entertainment, will showcase the One Shower Challenge during the network's red carpet coverage of the Emmys on Aug. 25. The goal of the challenge is to highlight the results of Dove's new body washes.

New York -- As analysts begin to speculate about the acquisition scenarios for Family Dollar – whether by Dollar Tree or Dollar General – one thing is clear: some store closures will occur.

According to a report by Wall Street Journal Online, a Dollar General takeover would close more stores than if Dollar Tree wins the bid. Dollar General said it is prepared to divest up to 700 of the combined company’s approximate 19,600 stores to satisfy antitrust regulators.
 

Las Vegas -- A resident of Las Vegas has launched a shoe vending machine, according to the Las Vegas Business Press. The business was born of a need to change out of high heels and into more comfortable footwear.

Ashley Ross launched Rollasole, a vending machine that dispenses comfortable flats. MGM Resorts International sells the shoes in several of its retail outlets in its Las Vegas resorts. And the shoes can be purchased in stores at Wynn Las Vegas and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas as well.

New York -- Lane Bryant announced that American ready-to-wear designer Lela Rose will be creating a limited-edition line exclusively for the special-sized retailer. The collection is set to hit stores summer 2015, and will be sold under the Lela Rose Exclusively for Lane Bryant label.

Lela Rose will be the third designer collaboration for Lane Bryant, joining the Sophie Theallet and Isabel Toledo collections.

Atlanta -- Home Depot said its fiscal second-quarter net income rose 14% amid a rebound in its spring selling season and strong online sales. The retailer also raised its annual profit guidance.

"In the second quarter, our spring seasonal business rebounded, and we saw strong performance in the core of the store and across all of our geographies," stated Frank Blake, chairman and CEO.

For the three months ended Aug. 3, Home Depot Inc. earned a better-than-expected $2.1 billion, compared to $1.8 billion in the year-ago period.

Framingham, Mass. -- TJX Cos. said Tuesday that its second-quarter net income increased a better-than-expected 8% on strong sales in the United States and abroad. The retailer also lifted its full-year earnings forecast.

TJX earned $517.6 million for the period ended Aug. 2, compared with $479.6 million a year earlier.

Revenue rose 7% to $6.92 billion from $6.44 billion, beating Wall Street's estimate of $6.88 billion.

New York -- Dick’s Sporting Goods reported second quarter net income of $69.5 million, below expectations, compared to $84.2 million the prior year. Its results included a $20.4 million charge related to restructuring of the company’s golf business,

The retailer reported $1.7 billion in revenue, up 10.3% from the same period last year and in line with estimates. E-commerce sales increased to 6.3% of sales, from 5.6% of sales the prior year.

San Francisco -- Kenshoo, a provider of predictive media optimization technology, and RevTrak, a promotions platform that drives and measures in-store sales through digital coupons, announced the results of a partnership uniting offline conversions and paid search performance for omnichannel optimization for Staples Canada.

By Andrew Schneide, ZOG Digital