News

San Francisco -- Banana Republic in late August will extend its digital reach as part of a select group of brands partnering with Instagram on paid advertising — a first-time amplification for the brand on the platform.

Austin, Texas – Zales has the highest annual percentage rate (APR) on its private label card out of 61 U.S. retailers surveyed by CreditCards.com. According to the study, the retailers with the five highest maximum APRs are:

1. Zales, up to a 28.99% APR;
2. Office Depot Personal Credit, up to a 27.99% APR;
3. Staples Personal Account, up to a 27.99% APR;
4. My Best Buy, up to a 25.24% and 27.99% APR, depending on your credit score; and

Milwaukee – Costs related to the exit of its Rainbow business in the Twin Cities markets, as well as the upcoming closure of a distribution center, helped push Roundy’s Inc. to a net loss in the second quarter of fiscal 2014. Roundy’s reported a net loss of $13.5 million, compared to net income of $11.6 million.

Net sales from continuing operations for second quarter 2014 were $971.9 million, an increase of 12% from $868.3 million for second quarter 2013. Same-store sales dropped 2.2%.

Stein Mart is marking its ninth consecutive quarter of positive sales. The company reported total sales of $75.3 million for July, a 0.9% increase from $74.6 in the prior year.

The company has generated $298.1 million in total sales for the second quarter so far, a 2.5% increase from $290.9 in the year-ago period. Comparable-store sales have increased 1.3%.

New York -- Less than 30% of middle-market retailers have websites optimized for mobile purchases, according to a national survey of C-suite executives by GE Capital. Currently, middle market retailers conduct 16% of their transactions online and about half expect the proportion of online transactions to increase in the next 12 months. (GE identifies middle-market retailers as ranging from $10 million to $1 billion in annual sales).

Costs related to the exit of its Rainbow business in the Twin Cities markets, as well as the upcoming closure of a distribution center, helped push Roundy’s to a net loss of $13.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014.

Net income for the quarter was $11.6 million, while net sales from continuing operations for second quarter 2014 were $971.9 million, an increase of 12% from $868.3 million for second quarter 2013. Same-store sales dropped 2.2%.

Montvale, N.J. – The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) is using the IBM FlashSystem V840 to compress live data and speed access to Big Data. The FlashSystem now integrates into a new Control Enclosure with IBM’s SAN Volume Controller (SVC) data virtualization system, a key component of IBM’s Software Defined Storage solution.

Digital coupons possess amazing powers to influence shopper behavior, according to a new study funded by digital coupon provider RetailMeNot.

Digital Coupons positively affect brand loyalty, broaden consumer’s horizons and rule the world of promotions, according to the study titled “The Impact of Online Coupons and Promotion Codes.” RetailMeNot commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct the survey of 500 consumers in May.