 | April 25, 2011 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
- Retailers focus on disaster preparedness
Having a disaster plan in place paid off for the Lowe's store in Sanford, N.C., this month -- staff and customers were unhurt after huddling in a safe room as a tornado ripped off the building's roof and brought down walls. Planning and employee training is key to safely surviving natural disasters, says NRF's Joe LaRocca, and most chains now have plans in place to handle everything from routine crises such as a power outage to extreme natural disasters. The Charlotte Observer (N.C.) (4/23)       - Retailing the Kardashian brand
The Kardashian family, known mostly to readers of celebrity weeklies and viewers of reality TV, is converting its c-list celebrity into cold cash, with a variety of products including fragrances, clothes, swimwear, skin-care products, bottled water, jewelry and candles. They have a Kardashian Kollection boutique opening inside Sears stores in August -- the retailer's biggest deal yet with a celebrity brand. Los Angeles Times (4/24)  | Facebook eCommerce Success: 3 Best Practices
Getting the most from Facebook investments continues to be a leading business concern. Learn how and why a combination of tools — both on-site and off — achieves the greatest impact and optimal user experience. Click here to download the free whitepaper | - Clearing the confusion when it comes to size
Apparel stores use different measures to size their clothing, a situation that often results in confusion and adds to the pile of garments returned to retailers -- improper sizing accounted for about 8% of the $194 million in clothing returned to stores last year, according to NRF figures. One possible solution: a company called MyBestFit has created mall kiosks that scan shoppers bodies and help them determine the right size at about 50 retailers including Old Navy, Eddie Bauer and Talbots. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (4/24) - Chicago's high-end stores see a rash of break-ins
Chicago detectives are asking for the public's help to solve a rash of recent smash-and-grab burglaries at high-end stores on the city's North Side that resulted in the theft of furs, clothing and accessories. Authorities didn't name the retailers that were victims, but said at least two burglars broke plate glass windows or doors to gain entry to the stores. Chicago Tribune (4/23)  | Help protect your employees by managing business travel risks with Zurich's white paper 'Managing the Risks of Business Travel: What every business needs to know'. Click here for the FREE download! |
 - Retailers fight back as online counterfeits grow
Retailers are finding new growth with online sales, but the Internet's rapid rise and the ability it affords to operate relatively anonymously have also made the Web a lucrative marketplace for sellers of counterfeit goods, which can damage brand reputations, eat into sales and support a number of other illegal activities. Some retailers and brands are fighting back by prosecuting third parties such as Internet service providers and website developers that do work for counterfeiters. Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (4/25)  | Organizations who handle payment card data are obligated to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This whitepaper discusses how the TransArmor® solution can enable scope reduction, minimizing costs and effort of PCI compliance. |
 | Hot Topics |  | | | Top five news stories selected by NRF SmartBrief readers in the past week. - Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.
| | | Most Popular Headlines from Last Week Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. |
| NRF News | | | | - NRF taps former U.S. Chamber VP as new head of communications and public affairs
NRF announced today that it has named Tita Freeman, formerly of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as Senior Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs. "Tita brings a wealth of experience leading major communications efforts on behalf of the business community," said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. "Her strategic insights and expertise make her uniquely qualified to help advance the retail industry's agenda, and to bring NRF's public affairs to the next level." Read more. - NRF SmartStat: April 25, 2011
 Three companies appeared for the first time this year on the list of shoppers' favorite 50 online retailers: Express.com, Aeropostale.com and Nike.com. Source: STORES survey conducted by BIGresearch. - Gift cards: weighing the opportunities and risks
For retailers, gift cards can be instrumental to improving cash flow and managing inventory. But according to Giles Sutton, state and local tax partner for Grant Thornton, the addition of federal legislation passed by Congress in 2009 and recent rulemaking by the Federal Reserve Board and IRS means retail companies must educate themselves on the full risks and rewards of gift card sales. In a recent peer-reviewed white paper in NRF's Retail Reference Center, Sutton discusses the issues and opportunities in this area. View the white paper.
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - First-quarter figures reflect rebounding chains
More than half of the top 500 U.S. restaurant chains showed sales increases in the first quarter of the year, indicating that most are rebounding from the recession. McDonald's credited much of its 4.2% increase in same-store sales to new menu items including oatmeal and a chipotle BBQ bacon Angus burger, while Chipotle's 12.4% increase came largely through increased traffic, the company said. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (4/22) - Burger chains spruce up menus for spring
Burger chains have been adding to their menus with the advent of spring, from the Bourbon BBQ Steak Grilled Sandwich at Jack in the Box to the the Spicy New Orleans burger at Burger King in Germany. Other chains are beefing up their nonburger offerings, including a chicken salad with berries at Wendy's and two chicken or fish sandwiches for $2 at Checkers, and McDonald's has begun testing all-day offerings of some of its breakfast items. BurgerBusiness.com (4/25)  | |  | | | | |  |  General Manager, Retail E-Commerce & Catalog | Smithsonian Enterprises | Washington, DC | | Manager IS Data Center & Wintel | PetSmart | Phoenix, AZ | | Buyer - Mens Outdoor/Sportswear | Bealls Department Stores | Bradenton, FL | | Flagship Store Manager | MacKenzie-Childs | New York, NY | | Director of Store Operations | Five Below, Inc. | Philadelphia, PA | | Retail Store Manager | Kitty Hawk Kites/Kitty Hawk Surf Company | Rodanthe, NC | | Director of Campaign Analysis | Chico's FAS, Inc. | Fort Myers, FL | | Marketing Manager Coupon Team | Target | Minneapolis, MN | | Senior Manager, Site Planning | Target | 55402, MN | | Business Process Consultant Target.com | Target | Minneapolis, MN | | | |  | |  |
| SmartQuote | | | |  | People who cannot recognize a palpable absurdity are very much in the way of civilization."
--Agnes Repplier,
American essayist  |
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| | | | | | | | | Recent NRF SmartBrief Issues: - Friday, April 22, 2011
- Thursday, April 21, 2011
- Wednesday, April 20, 2011
- Tuesday, April 19, 2011
- Monday, April 18, 2011
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