News

Washington, D.C. -- Import volume at major U.S. retail container ports is expected to increase 6.1% in April 2014, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. U.S. ports followed by Global Port Tracker handled 1.26 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) in February 2014, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available.

Atlanta – Havertys reported a 2.5% drop in sales during the first quarter of fiscal 2014 compared to the same period in the prior year, falling to $181.4 million from $186.1 million. Same-store sales declined 0.9%.

Clarence H. Smith, chairman, president and CEO of Havertys, said severe winter weather did not negatively impact all of Havertys locations.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. -- The board of directors of Wet Seal Inc. has decided to reduce the cash compensation for its directors by 20% for the remainder of fiscal 2014. Wet Seal will also reduce the number of director nominees to be elected at its upcoming annual meeting from nine to seven.

Kathy Bronstein recently resigned from The Wet Seal’s board of directors, effective April 4.

Atlanta -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named The Home Depot as a 2014 Energy Star Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence for its outstanding contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through promotion of energy-efficient products. The Home Depot, an Energy Star partner since 2001, will be honored for its leadership in its long-term commitment to energy efficiency through promotion of energy-efficient products that earn the Energy Star, the government-backed symbol of energy efficiency.

Oxford, U.K. -- Vuzix Corp., a U.K.-based supplier of video eyewear and smart glasses products, and Vision Smarts, a Belgian company that develops, distributes and supports software libraries for image recognition and real-time video analysis, have created a custom built-version of the “pic2shop” application specifically for use with the M100 Smart Glasses.

Orlando, Fla. -- Checkpoint Systems Inc. is releasing its new Zephyr 2 RFID label, which is certified by the University of Arkansas’ ARC Center for item-level tagging of all apparel categories in the U.S. and Europe. The Zephyr 2 RFID label design has an integrated UCode 7 chip from NXP Semiconductors, and comes with optimal read/write sensitivity for accurate counting and quicker encoding.  

Adidas Originals Collective (in Footaction)
Design/architecture: Big Red Rooster, Columbus, Ohio
Construction: Footaction, New York City
Lighting: Artemide/Voltage, Cincinnati
Fixtures/wallcoverings: G3K Displays, New York City; MDC Wall, New York City; Visual Magnetics, Mendon, Mass.
Flooring: Questmark Flooring, Allentown, Pa.; Bolon/Mats, Stoughton, Mass.

AT&T, Atlanta
Design/architect: Callison, Seattle
General contractor: US Communcations, Alpharetta, Ga.

BJ's Charitable Foundation has donated 70 grants totaling $431,000 to several nonprofit organizations whose goals are to help improve the lives of local residents in the areas surrounding BJ's Wholesale Clubs.

The funds will go toward healthcare, education, hunger prevention and self-sufficiency.

Rite Aid has been awarded specialty pharmacy accreditation from URAC, a Washington, D.C.-based health care accreditation organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

For the fifth consecutive year, Amelia Island Florida is offering exclusive savings to Harris Teeter VIC (Very Important Customer) cardholders through a partnership between the Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) and Harris Teeter.

Available April through December 31, VIC cardholders will receive discounts at 25 businesses, including Amelia Island hotels, restaurants, activities and shopping.