News

Smashburger is getting on the right track when it comes to reducing its energy use. The fast-casual, fast-growing better-burger eatery has deployed a Web-based energy management system that helps it identify energy cost-savings while also providing a consistent level of comfort.

Crowdsourced grocery delivery provider Instacart is already putting the $44 million in funding from big name Silicon Valley investors that it received a little more than a week ago to good use. The company has this week launched its one-hour grocery delivery service in Denver and Atlanta.

New York - Barnes & Noble Inc. plans to spin off its Nook e-reader unit as a separately traded public company from its retail operation by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2016. The retailer made this decision as its consolidated net loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 shrank from $114.8 million to $36.7 million, missing Wall Street estimates.

Premium footwear, accessories and apparel brand Johnston & Murphy has selected Demandware to help it bolster its omnichannel capabilities.

Johnston & Murphy recently launched a new e-commerce site, www.johnstonmurphy.com, on Demandware. The brand plans to leverage the commerce platform to enable mobile optimized shopping experiences via responsive web design, and the integration of online and offline channels to provide customers with “buy anywhere, fulfill anywhere” capabilities.  

Waban, Mass. - After a drop in daily Facebook usage on computers in 2013, U.S. consumers increased their daily use of Facebook, from 42.5% of the population in 2013 to 46.5% in 2014, according to new research by the Temkin Group. The "Social Media Benchmark Study, 2014" examines 10,000 U.S. consumers' use of several different social media sites, on computers and mobile devices, and compares the results to previous studies from 2012 and 2013.

Portland, Ore. - U.S. retail firms are confident in their ability to detect data breaches. According to a recent survey of 154 retailers by security solutions provider Tripwire, when asked how quickly their organizations would detect a breach, 42% of respondents said it would take 48 hours, 18% said it would take 72 hours, and 11% said it would take a week.  

With company representatives, Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, local officials and community leaders on hand, Ikea officially broke ground for its future St. Louis store scheduled to open fall 2015.

The 380,000-sq.-ft. location with 1,300 parking spaces will be built along the northern side of Interstate-64 and Vandeventer Ave. on nearly 21 acres in the City’s Cortex Innovation District. The company has contracted with St. Louis-based S. M. Wilson & Co. to construct the project.

HanesBrands plans to acquire DBApparel of France from Sun Capital Partners, provided consultation with European and French works councils representing DBA employees is completed and customary closing conditions are met.