News

Mass customization comes to Nordstrom footwear
Shoes of Prey is partnering with Nordstrom to house their design-your-own-shoes studio concept in six major locations across the country. The first Shoes of Prey Design Studio at Nordstrom will open today in Bellevue, Wash. Other studios will open in 2015.
Simon: 4 in 5 consumers begin holiday shopping before Thanksgiving
Indianapolis -- Nearly four-fifths of holiday shoppers (79%) begin their holiday shopping prior to Thanksgiving weekend. According to new data from Simon, Millennials are significantly more likely than all other generations to plan to shop on Black Friday (67%) and Christmas Eve (20%) this holiday season. Other notable findings include:

Dayton Mall to introduce Artec Group Shapify Booth

Dayton, Ohio -- The Dayton Mall is launching the Shapify Booth, a 3D full body scanner from Artec Group, on Tuesday, Nov. 18 in the mall’s center court. The booth takes a full scan of a person in 12 seconds, which is then 3D printed to create a full-color figurine called a “Shapie.”
Build-A-Bear offers holiday app

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. is offering an exclusive holiday app, “Santa's Merry Mission.” On the Team Santa site, children can take a personality quiz to determine which of the eight reindeer is their favorite, and then follow the steps to create their own plush toy.
Urban Outfitters misses on Q3 profit, same-store sales

Philadelphia –- Urban Outfitters missed Wall Street expectations for the third quarter of fiscal 2015 with a larger-than-predicted 33% decline in net income to $47.14 million from $70.26 million in the same period a year earlier. In addition, same-store sales fell 1% compared to expectations of flat results.
Boston Pizza selects Paytronix for loyalty program

Richmond, Canada –- Canadian casual dining chain Boston Pizza has selected the Paytronix Rewards platform as the foundation for its new Boston Pizza MyBP Program. Boston Pizza selected Paytronix because of its expertise in casual dining and integration with both the POSitouch point of sale system and the ONOSYS online ordering system.
Holiday survey: 40% of smartphone/tablet users will increase mobile shopping

New York -- More shoppers will be leveraging their mobile phones for holiday purchasing than ever before. Burst Media and Rhythm NewMedia’s 10th annual holiday survey found that 39.5% of respondents who use a smartphone and/or tablet to shop will use their mobile devices more this holiday season versus last.
Smart & Final reports increases in quarterly profit and sales

Commerce, Calif. -- Smart & Final Stores, Inc. reported that profit for the third quarter edged up 1.9% to $10.2 million. Sales surged 10.8% to $1.13 billion, and same-store sales leapt 6.6%. “We continue to grow sales in both of our store banners--Smart & Final and Cash & Carry--and this has translated into strong financial results.," said Dave Hirz, president and CEO.
Survey: 68% of consumers will do most or all of holiday shopping online

Redwood City, Calif. – About seven in 10 (68%) of consumers plan on doing most or all of their holiday shopping online. According to a new survey of nearly 1,000 consumers from from digital video advertising provider YuMe Inc., 77% are likely to buy some type of wearable technology. Other key findings include:
Books-A-Million turns a page

Books-A-Million has appointed Ronald J. Domanico to serve as a member of the board and a member of the audit committee of the board.

“We are very fortunate to have identified a director of the caliber and experience that Ron possesses,” said Clyde B. Anderson, the executive chairman of the board of directors of the company. “Ron is a seasoned financial executive that brings a depth of experience in finance, strategy, and operational matters to our board.”