Retail news round-up on January 30, 2014: Amazon plans Kindle checkout system, Tesco poaches Aldi executive, House of Fraser rolls out queuing technology, My-Wardrobe bolsters management team and Iceland bins case dropped.

Amazon plots Kindle checkout system for brick-and-mortar retailers

Amazon.com is planning to offer a checkout system that uses Kindle tablets to brick-and-mortar retailers as soon as this summer. The move would give retailers access to more consumer data. Amazon is to provide retailers Kindle tablets and credit-card readers under the scheme, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The ecommerce giant could also offer retailers other services, such as web development and data analysis. Amazon’s plans remain fluid and the project might be delayed, altered or cancelled, sources said. The online retailer may also look to develop a mobile wallet with stored credit-card data to help accelerate payments.

Tesco Ireland hires Aldi’s senior executive to join grocer

Tesco Ireland has poached competitor Aldi Ireland’s buying director Malachy O’Connor to join in a senior commercial role with the group, the Irish Independent reported. O’Connor will report to John Paul O’Reilly, the UK retailer’s commercial director in Ireland.

His appointment at the grocer could give it a better understanding of how to tackle the threat from the hard discounters. Previously, he was at Dunnes Stores, Superquinn and BWG.

House of Fraser to roll out its queue-busting technology

House of Fraser is to roll out its queue-busting technology that reduces the time click-and-collect shoppers wait in store.

The retailer will install the virtual queuing system, which was piloted at its London City store last year, in 15 further shops in the first quarter. It intends to roll out the technology to the rest of the estate by the end of the year..

Prosecutors drop Iceland food bin theft case against three men

The case against three men accused of stealing food from bins outside an Iceland store in London’s Kentish Town has been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service, after a public outcry, The Financial Times reported.

The three men were arrested after they were caught taking about £33 worth of mushrooms, tomatoes and Kipling cakes from a bin near the chain’s store. The frozen food retailer’s chief executive Malcolm Walker took to Twitter to condemn the arrest.

After receiving a complaint about the prosecution from the company, the CPS performed a U-turn. Baljit Ubhey, the chief crown prosecutor for CPS London, said that a ‘prosecution is not required in the public interest’.

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