| June 18, 2012 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
|  | Social influence: the new currency in Retail.
In just 20 minutes on Facebook, more than 1 million links are shared. Is yours among them? Adapting to the digital consumer, tapping social influence and finding new ways to reach your best customers…this is the new normal. Learn more about Accenture's view of Retail @ the Edge. | |
- Ascena to close Fashion Bug chain
Ascena Retail Group has completed its $890 million acquisition of Charming Shoppes and plans to shutter the remaining Fashion Bug stores by early 2013. The company is also considering a sale of the profitable Figi's chain, saying the growing brand doesn't fit in with its overall retail strategy. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (6/15)      - Meijer celebrates 50 years since opening America's first superstore
The superstore concept turned 50 this month as Grand Rapids, Mich., retailer Meijer marked the golden anniversary of its first store to sell general merchandise and groceries. Meijer has managed to expand alongside later competitors Wal-Mart Stores and Target and employs about 600,000 people at its 198 stores. "It's pretty amazing to look back and see how significant the concept has become," Meijer spokesman Frank Guglielmi said. The Detroit News (6/16) - Macy's flagship extends hours during renovation
Macy's will open its Herald Square flagship in New York City an hour earlier on weekdays during its four-year, $400 million renovation, the company said. The retailer will also post "ambassadors" at store and department entrances to help shoppers navigate the changing configurations. Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (6/15)  | Deliver a Personal Shopping Experience Across Multiple Channels
View this webinar to learn how Moosejaw Mountaineering, an outdoor recreation apparel and gear retailer, gets into the heads of its customers, finds out what they really want, and then engages the customer on a very personal level to deliver a seamless experience across all channels. Click here to view the webinar now. |
  - Global retailers team with utilities to sell electricity
Utility companies finding themselves in competitive situations as more companies deregulate are partnering with retailers including Marks & Spencer in the U.K., Coles Supermarkets in Australia and Best Buy in the U.S. to sell their electric services directly to consumers. "The better job we do to present a range of energy solutions beyond just providing power, we become a lot more valuable to that consumer," says Jason Few, president of Texas-based Reliant, which has teamed with Best Buy. The Wall Street Journal (6/15)  | Email marketing in a complex world
Experts estimate that approximately 20 percent of emails never make it to the inbox. Read this white paper to see how a focused approach and relevant content can drive customer actions, build communities and extend the reach of your brand. |
 - Sears introduces more cost-effective technology infrastructure
Sears and other traditional retail chains have been working to modernize their systems for the digital age while often contending with mainframe systems created before the advent of e-commerce. Sears is using ftp protocol and open-source software from Hadoop to handle huge new chunks of data and personalize customer offers without boosting spending, the company says. The Wall Street Journal (6/17)  | Top 5 HR Compliance Concerns for Small Business
Small and medium sized companies spend a lot of time focusing on core business issues, but they may overlook one of the most potentially serious and costly issues — regulatory compliance. How do you know what issues to look for in order to protect the company? Download this must-read paper that discusses the top 5 HR compliance issues. |
 | 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.
| Policy & Government Affairs | |  | | |  | - Retailers push harder on online sales tax
Retailers and NRF are campaigning harder to convince Congress to pass a bill allowing states to require online retailers to collect sales tax, shifting the responsibility to pay the tax from consumers to merchants. "Whether you purchase goods at a store or over the Internet, it's your obligation to pay sales tax on the item. But the majority of people don't do that, and that's why we have this tax gap," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) (6/17)  | Prosper from CMO Insights on Email Deliverability
An email marketing campaign is all for naught if the email never reaches the inbox. Learn what senior marketers are doing to ensure that it does. Download "CMO Perspectives on Email Deliverability" to fine-tune an email deliverability strategy that's right for your organization. |
 | | | Most Popular Headlines from Last Week Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. |
| NRF News | | | |  | - Health care and the Supreme Court: What the retail industry needs to know
With a Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act on the horizon, there are a number of possible scenarios that could change how the industry will be required to provide health care to their employees. In a NRF members-only webinar on June 21, NRF Vice President and Employee Benefits Policy Counsel Neil Trautwein will walk through the steps that got America to this juncture, the possible decision outcomes, and what they can mean to retailers. Learn more or register. |
- What's new at this week's Loss Prevention Conference
More than 2,700 loss prevention professionals will storm the Big Easy this week for NRF's Loss Prevention Conference and EXPO. But the conference's distinctive taste of New Orleans flair isn't the only thing new this year, as attendees have access to a free interactive mobile app to navigate the show, a more diverse Fusion Center to network with law enforcement representatives of all levels, and so much more. Read more. Retail's BIG Blog (6/18)
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - Mrs. Fields picks Denver area for new HQ
Famous Brands International, the parent of Mrs. Fields and TCBY, will relocate its headquarters from Salt Lake City to Broomfield, Co., near Denver, CEO Tim Casey said Friday. The area is already home to the headquarters and franchise operations for several chains including Quiznos, Red Robin, Smashburger and Noodles & Co. American City Business Journals/Denver (6/15) | |  | | Position Title | Company Name | Location | | Category Buyer | School Outfitters | Cincinnati, OH | | Sr. Merchandise Planner | BevMo! | Concord, CA | | Assistant Vice President, Allocation | dressbarn | Suffern/border line Mahwah, NJ , NY | | VP eCommerce | Burlington | Burlington, NJ | | eCommerce Merchandise Manager | Gorsuch | Vail, CO | | VP DMM Ladies Shoes | Burlington | Burlington, NJ | | Divisional Vice President, Marketing - Customer | REI | Kent, WA | | Divisional Vice President, Marketing - Brand Creative | REI | Kent, WA | | Planner | Bed Bath & Beyond | Union, NJ | | Sr. Analyst, Customer Analytics | REI | Kent, WA | | Sr. Site Manager, Shopping Experience | Apple, Inc. | Cupertino, CA | | Divisional Merchandise Manager (DMM) | Perry Ellis International | Miami, FL | | Alterations Manager | Saks Fifth Avenue | Huntington Station, NY | | Merchandise Planner | Gorsuch | Vail, CO | | DIRECTOR OF MARKETING – CRM STRATEGY | Saks Fifth Avenue | Huntington Station, NY | | Human Resources Director (Talent Development Director) | Saks Fifth Avenue | Palm Beach Gardens, FL | | Senior Director of Merchandising | Francesca's Collections | Houston, TX | | Associate Buyer | Five Below, Inc. | Philadelphia, PA | | Merchandise Planning Manager | Spirit Halloween | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | | Click here to view more job listings. | | |
| SmartQuote | | | |  | It is necessary to relax your muscles when you can. Relaxing your brain is fatal."
--Stirling Moss,
British racing driver  |
| | This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers.data@blogger.com
| | | | | | | | | Recent NRF SmartBrief Issues: - Friday, June 15, 2012
- Thursday, June 14, 2012
- Wednesday, June 13, 2012
- Tuesday, June 12, 2012
- Monday, June 11, 2012
| | | Lead Editor: Megan Conniff
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 | | | | | | © 1999-2012 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information |
|
Build-a-Bear Workshop's fans increasingly are interacting with the brand both in stores and online, driving a close collaboration between the retailer's IT and marketing departments, says marketing chief Teresa Kroll. "Our teams look at how we can work smarter and best respond to the changing business climate by sharing metrics and strategies." 
6 in 10 retailers said coordinating a crosschannel experience was their top challenge to creating a differentiating mobile experience. Source: 
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please comment thoughtfully CPG Brokers, your best resource to optimize your in store self exposure and maximize sku distribution.