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Since New York-based Lord & Taylor deployed radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in six of its U.S. stores to track inventory on its shoe displays, the company has seen a significant increase in sales.

Aaron’s announced that for personal health reasons Robert C. Loudermilk Jr. has resigned his position as president and chief executive officer of the company.

From the start, the casual shoes were known by a single name: Vans. James Van Doren, who ran the company from 1976 to 1984, died Oct. 12 at his home in Fullerton after a long illness, said his wife, Char. He was 72.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Inc. reopened its Fifth Avenue store in New York on Nov. 4, after nearly five months of construction, according to www.huffingtonpost.com. As part of the remodel, the entire structure was removed and rebuilt. Apple replaced the 90 panels that previously comprised the store's glass cube with 15 large glass panels. The project involved completely removing the old glass and its hardware, upgrading the surrounding plaza and reinstalling the new cube. In addition, the company currently is building its fifth bricks-and-mortar New York store in Grand Central Terminal. At 23,000 sq. ft., the new location will be

Best Buy, the world’s largest consumer electronics retailer, agreed to buy Carphone Warehouse Group’s stake in its U.S. mobile phone joint venture for 838 million pounds ($1.34 billion) and close the U.K. stores it opened less than two years ago. The purchase of Carphone Warehouse’s interest in a profit- sharing agreement for the Best Buy mobile business in the U.S. and Canada will boost earnings next year, excluding items, the Richfield, Minn.-based retailer said today in a statement. Carphone Warehouse will return almost all of the proceeds to shareholders, according to a separate statement.

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Last month, Urban Outfitters drew threats of legal action from the Navajo Nation for advertising the "Navajo Hipster Panty." To avoid that potential liability, Urban Outfitters recently changed the names of all 21 of the products it had been calling "Navajo." But fellow retailer Forever 21 doesn't seem to share Urban Outfitters' concern. While a search for "Navajo" on its website turns up no results, a little digging reveals at least a half-dozen items that have the Navajo trademark in the title.

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One expects to confront a barrage of lower-priced impulse items at stores during the holiday season. The surprise this year is just how far afield stores are going in their efforts to get your dollars, as Banana Republic is selling limited edition wine, priced under $20.

Sears has introduced mobile shopping walls in high-traffic areas. The shopping walls, which will feature top toys that consumers can purchase from their smartphone by scanning a product's QR code, will be available in select malls and at bus shelters nationwide.