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Plug and Play brings together retailers and start-ups that offer specific technology and expertise that can relieve merchants’ pain points. Chain Store Age’s Customer Disruption newsletter provides a Q&A with the CEO of one of those companies in each issue. This time, the spotlight is on Brian Ley of BiddRocket.

What does your company do?

Chicago -- Retailers looking for opportunities in emerging markets should look East, particularly to China, which ranks as the top country in A.T. Kearney’s annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI). China, which returns to number one in the GRDI rankings for the first time since 2010, is expected to surpass the United States as the world's largest retail market by 2018.

By Emily Westridge Black and Christopher Quinlan

With major data breaches making headline news on a near-weekly basis, the retail industry is increasingly focused on cybersecurity. When creating their cybersecurity plans retailers should: 

• Create a strong cybersecurity team that is cross-sectional, and include personnel from legal, information technology, human resources, and communications or public relations departments. The team should also include at least one member of senior management.

Amazon  is facing increased competition these days. In some of the more publicized developments, subscription-based e-commerce site Jet.com is taking off soon, EBay is piloting a service to compete with Amazon Prime in Germany, and Google is reportedly planning to introduce a “buy” button that will turn searches into transactions.

Beyond the natural competition any successful business generates, there are specific factors making it more appealing than ever for retailers of all sizes to try taking on Amazon. Here are three of the most significant ones.

Fast growing retailer Five Below is bolstering it supply chain capabilities in the northeast with a new facility that will eventually exceed one million square feet.

The retailer of of value merchandise for teens announced the it will open a new distribution center in Oldmans Township, N.J. The 1,045,000 square-foot facility, located at 5 Gateway Boulevard, Pedricktown, N.J., will replace the company's existing 421,000 square foot facility located 12 miles away in New Castle, Del.

Dollar General has hit another milestone, this time in the small town of Juliette, Georgia.

An online retailer that offers upscale men’s suits at ultra-low prices is launching a new service that aims to radically change online shopping.

Combatant Gentleman, a fast-growing startup that Inc. magazine has dubbed “the next Warby Parker,” has added a video chat solution to its website that allows clients to shop alongside a personal stylist. LiveNinja, a video-chat based startup, built a communication platform that allows for the retailer to establish more authentic relationships with customers online.

Dollar Tree has agreed to sell 330 of its stores to the private-equity firm Sycamore Partners in order to get regulatory approval for its $8.5 billion purchase of Family Dollar.

Sycamore Partners intends to operate the 330 stores, which represent approximately $45.5 million of operating income for Family Dollar, under the Dollar Express banner.

Social media users would rather post positive feedback to retailers than post a complaint, according to a new survey.

Research from eDigitalResearch reveals that consumers are predominantly using social media as a tool to give positive feedback. Of the 2,000 consumers surveyed who have used social media to contact a brand in the past year, 6% have used social media to send positive feedback about a company compared to 2% who said they have used this touch point to send a complaint.

Boot Barn is stepping up its e-commerce game with the acquisiton of Sheplers for a purchase price of $147 million.