 | December 16, 2010 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
- Stores go all out to attract last-minute shoppers
Retailers aren't resting on their laurels after better-than-expected November sales growth increased expectations for the holiday season. Stores have enough inventory to attract last-minute shoppers heading into the final shopping weekend, they say. Toys R Us will keep stores open for 88 consecutive hours starting Tuesday and Macy's has raised the number of round-the-clock stores to 14 this year, up from 12 in 2009. Los Angeles Times/The Associated Press (12/15)       - Holidays keep personal toy shopper on her toes
Evelyn Goldstein is all about the toys this time of year. The personal shopper at Manhattan's FAO Schwarz store spends her days walking the floors to memorize the location of every toy and listening to children to learn which toys are popular. On one recent day, Goldstein shepherded a Denver couple through the store as they shopped for their eight grandchildren. The Wall Street Journal (12/16) - Toymakers cash in with collectibles: Like the Beanie Babies and Pokemon cards of years past, 2010's hot collectible toys are designed to keep parents spending in a quest to complete sets. This year, children are hot for Squinkies and Zoobles, two different sets of tiny plastic characters too numerous to name. Limited supplies of especially coveted characters help spur demand for the season's hottest toys. The Wall Street Journal (12/16)
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 - Marshalls to debut in Canada next year
 Discount apparel and home-goods retailer Marshalls plans to open its first four Canadian stores next year, including one in a former nightclub space in downtown Toronto. Parent TJX Corp. operates a similar concept, Winners, in Canada and industry watchers expect the new Marshalls store to complement Winners rather than compete for customers. The Toronto Star (12/14) - Sears and Kmart stores to add uniform shops
Sears Holdings has contracted with Work 'N Gear to run uniform shops inside Sears and Kmart stores around the country, starting with 10 shops in four states that launched last month. The shops, dubbed "Scrubology," will sell uniforms for medical professionals in spaces ranging from 600 to 1,500 square feet. ChicagoBreakingBusiness.com (12/15)  | The Sears Experience: Generating Profit through In-Store Testing. NRF Big Ideas Session — Monday, Jan 10, 10:45AM -11:15AM, Room 3D04. Join us to hear how Sears and 26 of the other Top 100 US retailers are using Test & Learn to improve profits and ROI of new programs in capital expenditure, pricing, marketing, new products, advertising, promotions, merchandising, and operations across brands. Click here to learn more and attend. | - Mobile price-comparison apps shake up in-store shopping
Shoppers armed with smartphone apps that allow them to compare prices and buy from competitors on the spot are throwing a scare into brick-and-mortar retailers. According to a recent survey by IDC Retail Insights, 45% of shoppers with smartphones had visited stores to check out products in person, then used the technology in their pockets to snag the best deals. The Wall Street Journal (12/15) - The top fashion industry moves of 2010
From French Connection's series of shopping-enabled "Youtique" videos that attracted younger shoppers, to Forever 21's lucrative habit of swimming against the trendy tides, fashion merchants made moves that paid off this year. BNET's top 10 list also includes Vera Wang's move into mass-market wedding gowns in partnership with David's Bridal. BNET (12/14)  | Today's leading technologies provide new ways to solve old problems. See Joshua Jewett, SVP and CIO at Family Dollar discuss "Delivering Business Impact with SaaS." This NRFtech presentation describes how SaaS is a new tool in the IT arsenal and how Family Dollar quickly deployed a SaaS based inventory solution to drive significant results. | - Crate & Barrel rolls out mobile check-in devices
Crate & Barrel is adding mobile devices to all its stores in Chicago and New York this week, and the chain's 160 U.S. stores will be equipped by February. Shopkick is handling the mobile location application for Crate & Barrel, and its wide rollout signals the broad acceptance of mobile apps. StorefrontBacktalk (12/15) | Main Street |  | | | - SBA launches a program for quicker, easier loan approvals
More than 600 banks approved as "preferred" lenders by the Small Business Administration now will be able to approve small-business loans in as little as minutes. The Small Loan Advantage program announced Wednesday seeks to cut down on paperwork so more banks will offer 7(a) loans. Banks can electronically send a one-page credit memo that "will be approved in minutes," according to the SBA. CNNMoney.com (12/15)  | |  | | The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
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| NRF News | | | | - Retail industry committed to job creation
While retail has been on the forefront of the economic recovery, NRF has been at the forefront of providing necessary resources to aid our industry. Visit NRF's newly created Retail Creates Jobs headquarters -- a place to view retail employment data, insights from top executives on retail as a career and government resources for small stores and big brands alike. Visit the HQ. - NRF SmartStat: Dec. 16, 2010
 Barbie sits atop the top holiday toys list for girls, holding on to the number one spot for the fifth straight year. Source: NRF survey conducted by BIGresearch. - Target, Macy's, Toys R Us top list of best holiday ads for 2010
When it comes to holiday commercials this year, shoppers favor the humorous over the sentimental, according to a survey from the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association. While Target, Wal-Mart and Macy's had the three favorite holiday ads, Best Buy, Kmart and Sears also made big impressions. Read more.
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - Burger King drops late-night rule
Burger King has dropped its requirement that stores stay open until at least 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Three franchises sued Burger King more than two years ago to end the rule, saying staying open that late was unprofitable and unsafe for store workers. The Miami Herald (free registration) (12/16) | Career Track | | | |  | |  | | | | |  |  Director of eCommerce | South Moon Under | Berlin, MD | | Senior Software Engineer | Bass Pro Shops | Springfield, MO | | Director, Guest Services | Spencer Gifts/Spirit Halloween/ToyZam! | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | Director of eCommerce | Spencer Gifts/Spirit Halloween/ToyZam! | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | Executive Vice President, Merchandising & Marketing | Total Wine & More | Potomac, MD | | Buyer - Ladies Apparel - Special Sizes | Stein Mart | Jacksonville, FL | | Regional Manager Development Program | Follett Higher Education Group | Multiple Locations, United States | | Retail Construction Project Manager | Teavana | Atlanta, GA | | Store Technology Leader | PetSmart | Phoenix, AZ | | Assistant Category Manager - Reader's Market | Sears | Hoffman Estates, IL | | Vice President of Strategic Planning | Rent-A-Center | Plano, TX | | Legal Counsel | Kohl's | Menomonee Falls, WI | | Branch Head/Field Operations (Marine Corps Exchanges) | Headquarters/MCCS | Quantico Marine Corps Base, VA | | | |  | |  |
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