News

Coppell, Texas – Higher selling, general and administrative (SG&A expenses) helped drive down net income at The Container Store Inc. during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, and the retailer expects open nine new stores and relocate one store during fiscal 2015. The Container Store reported net income of $13 million, down 29% from $18.3 million in the same quarter the prior year.

Net sales totaled $224.26 million, up 3% from $216.82 million. Same-store sales dropped 0.8%.

Hy-Vee is joining the legion of grocery chains with online ordering, delivery and store pickup.

According to KCCI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa, the regional supermarket is rolling out a service called Aisles Online in select stores.

The news site quotes Hy-Vee as saying that the average order has about 30 items and takes a worker about a half-hour to compile. The items are scanned, loaded up and delivered. Or customers can pick them up at the store. Delivery costs $4.95 per order, and pick-up costs $2.95 per order, with the charges dropped for orders of $100 or more.

JCPenney Company Inc. has named one of its board members as its next EVP and chief marketing officer.

The company said that Mary Beth West, a highly accomplished consumer marketing executive, will join the company's executive leadership team as executive vice president and chief customer and marketing officer effective June 1. She will be stepping down from her position on its Board of Directors to assume this new role.

Minneapolis – Brian Cornell, CEO of Target Corp., reportedly received total compensation of $28.2 million in 2014. According to the Wall Street Journal, that figure includes $14 million in “make-whole” compensation he was paid for leaving his previous position as CEO of PepsiCo in August 2014.

Cornell also received a prorated salary of $595,000 from Target, among other compensation.

San Jose, Calif. – PayPal Inc. is reportedly now offering its One Touch single-touch electronic payment capability to online purchases. According to Reuters, PayPal is extending the reach of the previously mobile-only One Touch to help reduce the $4 trillion in merchandise that consumers annually abandon in online shopping carts.

Customers will be able to use One Touch to make purchases across all PayPal-enabled sites without re-entering login information.

Irvine, Calif. – La Jolla Group, vertical retailer of multiple specialty apparel brands, knows a thing or two about keeping the bad guys out of its network. The company has been using Dell SonicWall TZ series firewall technology to ensure security at both corporate headquarters and its 18 retail stores.

Chain Store Age recently had the chance to speak with noted consumer trend expert Faith Popcorn, founder and CEO of marketing consulting firm Faith Popcorn’s BrainReserve, about steps McDonald’s can take to reverse its struggling fortunes. Popcorn’s insights come on the heels of McDonald’s reporting a 33% year-over-year drop in profits for first quarter 2015.

Bigger Isn’t Always Better
According to Popcorn, McDonald’s vast size is not necessarily an asset anymore.

Wayne, N.J. – If Darth Vader scared you, then you’ll probably want to check out the new online “Star War”s hub that Toys “R” Us Inc. is launching as part of a year-long omnichannel promotion tied to the classic movie franchise, which returns with a new film in December. The hub will showcase video content, event information and more in the coming months.