News

In the alternative universe where Amazon resides, surging expenses that eat into the company’s profitability are viewed favorably. If Walmart were afforded the same treatment its stock would have surged after it was revealed increased labor, health care and e-commerce costs eroded second quarter profits.

Dallas – Net loss at specialty jewelry retailer DSGE Inc. roughly tripled to $4.45 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014 from $1.12 million in the same period a year earlier. Writeoffs related to the closure of DSGE’s Southern Bullion banner drove the net loss increase.

All laundry detergent’s most recent ad campaign, called “Summer Play,” encourages consumers to turn their mobile devices into a movie-making machine, thanks to Magisto’s cloud-based smart technology.

Princeton, N.J. – Almost one-in-three (31%) of U.S. consumers say wanting to see/feel items in person would make them shop at a physical store instead of online. According to a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers conducted by digital agency Ripen E-commerce, almost as many (29.9%) wanting to buy an item immediately would spur them to make an in-person purchase.

Other responses include:

• 16.9% believe it protects their privacy
• 14.4% shop in-store to save on shipping costs

Plano, Texas – Pizza Hut Inc. is deploying energy management systems from Entouch Controls at 500 corporate stores. The company plans to recommend the Entouch technology to its 5,800 franchised stores, as well.

BitPay, a payment service provider (PSP) specializing in e-commerce, B2B and enterprise solutions for the bitcoin digital currency, has expanded its San Francisco office with several new hires.

The company has named Sonny Singh as its chief commercial officer to oversee all sales operations. With more than 15 years of experience in helping to grow tech companies, Singh will be responsible for increasing BitPay’s customer base of more than 40,000 merchants.
 

Jan Clevenger has been named EVP and general merchandising manager of men’s, home and kids, reporting to newly named president and chief merchandising officer David Zant.

Clevenger has served as chair of the Belk Western Division based in Birmingham, Alabama, since March 2008. She began her retail career with Macy's in 1984 in store management before becoming a buyer for men’s and center core.  

Seattle – Amazon.com has entered into direct competition with digital payment providers Square and PayPal by releasing Amazon Local Register, a secure card reader and mobile app that allows retailers to accept credit and debit cards from a smartphone or tablet. Users create an account, purchase a $10 card reader, and download a free mobile app.