News

San Francisco – The Grand Cities Mall in Grand Forks, North Dakota leads all U.S. shopping malls in both the presence of shoppers who live and the presence of shoppers who work within three miles.

Austin, Texas -- Market Basket Grocery Stores, a privately-owned grocer with 34 full-service supermarkets in the East Texas and Louisiana region, has renewed and expanded their agreement for Revionics Life Cycle Pricing Optimization. They expanded the agreement to also include Revionics Advanced Analytics services, such as the Key Value Item (KVI) Analysis, which will enable them to leverage science to better align their KVIs with shopper behavior and the competitive landscape.

San Francisco - OpenTable, a provider of online restaurant reservations and part of The Priceline Group, has kicked off the national expansion of its pay with OpenTable feature with a launch in New York City. In addition to its new launch in New York City, OpenTable plans to expand its mobile payments presence in San Francisco, home to its mobile payment pilot which launched in February 2014, and to roll out the feature across the nation by introducing it in 20 cities before the end of 2014.

Atlanta - Retail spending growth was at an 11-month high in July as summer vacation travel led strong spending during the month, according to data reported by payment technology and services provider First Data Corporation. The First Data SpendTrend analysis looked at the period July 1 through 31, 2014, compared to July 2 through Aug. 1, 2013.

San Francisco -- Gap is launching the inaugural GapKids Class of 2014, a social media contest inviting parents to submit photos of their kids for the chance to be featured in a 2015 GapKids marketing campaign. This is Gap's next generation of Casting Call, a marketing program that lasted six years.

Eden Prairie, Minn. – Supervalu Inc. is hosting the company’s first-ever national sales expo, a three-day trade event, in St. Paul, Minnesota. The expo will feature more than 20 educational sessions and more than 330 expo booths, providing more than 3,900 independent grocery retailers from more 1,250 stores the opportunity to gain insights, merchandising ideas and grocery retail solutions from industry experts.

San Antonio – Motor fuel and convenience store operator CST Brands Inc. reported net income of $32 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, down 22% from $41 million in the second quarter of the prior fiscal year. Until May 1, 2013, CST was still a wholly owned subsidiary of Valero and, as such, second quarter 2013 results do not include all of the expenses associated with being a public company.

Littleton, Mass. – Net income at Dover Saddlery Inc. for the second quarter decreased 26% to $261,000, compared to $355,000 achieved in second quarter 2013. Higher selling, and general and administrative expenses helped cut the net income total.

Dover Saddlery is planning to open four-to-six retail stores in 2014. Until there is greater long-term visibility on sustainable economic conditions and consumer behavior, the company is not providing guidance on other business prospects.

North Bergen, N.J. - The Vitamin Shoppe will host its latest "Share the Health" expo on Aug. 16, in more than 600 stores nationwide. As part of this event, each store will offer its own specialized festivities, such as free product samples and consultations with local wellness partners.

This marks the ninth Share the Health Expo hosted by the Vitamin Shoppe since 2012. The Vitamin Shoppe stores will host wellness partners from their communities throughout the day, ranging from local gyms and spas to chiropractors and product representatives.

Gold River, Calif. – Specialty online health- and beauty-care retailer SkinStore is using predictive technology from Coherent Path to help deliver personalized offers that build long-term customer loyalty. The cloud-based Coherent Path solution is designed to enable retailers to understand the trajectory of customer journeys and deliver the products, offers and experiences that drive satisfaction, loyalty and customer lifetime value.