News

Seattle --  A Seattle-based flash sales site may just be sputtering overseas, as a Forbes report on Thursday said that Zulily may shutter its United Kingdom operations, which currently serve as the concept’s first and only international office. According to Zulily CEO Darrell Cavens in a Forbes interview, changes in the apparel flash site’s international focus has led the company to consider its options.  

Mooresville, N.C. – Lowe’s is taking its Iris smart home program and trying to make it even smarter, with help from connected home platform provider Icontrol Networks. Starting in early 2015, many Lowe's Iris smart home devices will be certified through Icontrol's OpenHome Developer Program, allowing these devices to work seamlessly with Icontrol-powered solutions.

Lowe’s has a new partner in its pursuit of the connected home market and the lofty goal of making customers’ homes and lives smarter.

The nation’s second largest home improvement retailer will sell new smart home devices in 2015 certified by Icontrol Networks, the company behind the most widely used connected home platform in the industry.

Costco showed again in December why it’s the cream of the crop among warehouse club stores.

The Wash.-based retailer reported an increase of 8% in same store sales in the United States, excluding gasoline sales and foreign exchange. Same-store sales at international stores rose by 1%.

Net sales for the retailer rose 5% to $12.12 billion in December from $11.53 billion a year earlier.

Secaucus, N.J. – The Children’s Place Inc. has authorized a new $100 million share repurchase, with the goal of returning excess capital to shareholders. During the past five years, Children’s Place has returned more than $487 million to our shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.

Hers may not be a household name among Walmart suppliers, but few of the retailer’s executives have as much of an impact on the daily lives of trading partners as Suja Chandrasekaran.

As Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Walmart, Chandrasekaran leads the technology and data transformation underway at Walmart that is referred to as Retail Link 2.0. The information sharing system known as Retail Link was pioneered by Walmart more than two decades ago and today is used extensively by suppliers for all manner of supply chain applications.

New York – Barnes & Noble Inc. saw a sharp decline in holiday sales in its Nook e-reader division, even as its retail segment showed small improvement. The Nook segment (including digital content, devices and accessories), had sales of $56 million for the nine-week holiday period, decreasing 55% as compared to a year ago.

Bartell Drugs has selected former REI executive Brian Unmacht as its new president.

Prior to joining the 63-store pharmacy retailer, Unmacht served as REI’s EVP and CEO. He has served as a member of Bartell Drugs’ board of directors since 2011.

Bartell Drugs’ chairman and CEO George D. Bartell said that filling the position at the family-owned company supports future succession plans as it celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2015. Bartell Drugs is the oldest and largest family-owned drug store chain in the United States.