| May 4, 2012 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
- Pandora's brand wins with affordable luxury
Pandora Jewelry's brand of personalized charm bracelets at affordable price points resounded with U.S. consumers tightening their belts during the recession, proving a boon for retailers when sales of higher-priced pieces slowed. The company, which was founded in Denmark three decades ago, saw sales double between 2009 and 2010. STORES magazine (5/2012)       | Which do you choose: Customer frustration…or channel integration? Today's consumers expect to shop the way technology lets them work and live: easily, efficiently and seamlessly across channels. Aberdeen's 2012 Analyst Insight on the Omni-Channel Retail Experience explains how your competitors make that happen – and how you can too! This $399 value is now yours free. Download the report now! |
 - Men's Wearhouse tailors new campaign for young buyers
New Men's Wearhouse commercials are cut to suit younger tastes. "Younger men are paying more attention to their personal style and how they present themselves," said Men's Wearhouse's senior vice president of marketing, Matt Stringer. The company has designed a new line with younger styling and hosts a new website encouraging prospective customers to "Suit Yourself" and express individual tastes. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (5/3) - J.C. Penney taps former Home Depot executive as CFO
J.C. Penney has named former Home Depot finance vice president Ken Hannah as its new chief financial officer, replacing former CFO Michael Dastugue, who left last month. Most recently, Hannah served as president of solar energy at MEMC Electronic Materials. Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (5/3)  - Frugal millennials turn to style swapping
Retailers including Gap and Urban Outfitters are working harder to appeal to budget- and style-conscious millennials, many of whom are increasingly trading their used clothes with peers at "swap parties" instead of buying new pieces. "This generation has also grown up in an online world of Craigslist and eBay where selling something or swapping something has become somewhat second nature," said WSL Strategic Retail CEO Wendy Liebmann. Bloomberg Businessweek (5/3)  | RadioShack has a global presence and a variety of innovative products and services. With reasonable investment levels and hundreds of potential markets, a RadioShack franchise represents an exciting opportunity for you to associate with a powerful retail brand. Click here to learn more. |
 - Retailers boost sales with RFID systems
Retailers including Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor are increasingly using RFID technology to keep in-demand inventory on the shelves, and boosting sales in the process. "RFID increased our manpower and visibility so that we can start every day 100-percent knowing that our store is ready for customers," said Lord & Taylor executive Eileen DiLeo. Luxury Daily (5/3)  | What Data Thieves Don’t Want You to Know:
How a multi-layered data security solution, including encryption and tokenization, protects data in transit, in use and at rest. When combined, these two technologies provide a powerful method for securing sensitive data wherever it exists. Get proof here. |
 | Policy & Government Affairs |  |  | | |  | - French court overturns part of eBay ruling
The French high court partially overturned a lower court's 2008 verdict against eBay in a case brought by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which accused the online marketplace of selling counterfeit goods. The high court ruled that the appeals court had jurisdiction to impose fines and block sales of certain items on eBay's sites in France and the U.K., but not the U.S. The Wall Street Journal (5/3)  | You may be considering a cloud computing solution or in the midst of specifying one or even implementing a solution. Read this paper to see what IBM discovered about how companies like yours are adopting, implementing and using cloud computing solutions. Learn about the current rate of adoption, drivers, barriers, and considerations that are influencing the adoption of cloud computing. |
| NRF News | |  | | - Best practices to boost springtime conversions and sales
The early season of warm weather for most of the country has helped the early spring holidays, and with Mother's Day, Graduation and Father's Day on the horizon, the springtime shopping season is in full swing. In a post on the Shop.org blog, Head of Research Fiona Swerdlow provides tips for boosting spring gift sales and conversions, starting with evaluating and updating promotions that have worked with your customers in the past. Read more. Shop.org Blog (3/15) - 5 tips to leverage integrated retail and business intelligence
Technology has given consumers 24/7 accessibility, prompting a mainstream shift for shoppers to use their devices for cross-channel comparisons of prices, reviews, and more. So what techniques can retail executives use to understand this "mix and match" consumer behavior? In a May 10 STORES webinar, executives from CitiXsys will share how retailers can prepare their infrastructure to adapt to rapid changes in customer affinity for sales channels while also creating a seamless omnichannel shopping experience. Learn more and register.
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - Einstein Noah eyes possible sale, merger
Colorado-based Einstein Noah Restaurant Group has hired Piper Jaffray as financial adviser as the bagel store operator explores its options for a merger or sale of the company, CEO Jeff O'Neill said Thursday. The company, which operates the Einstein Bros. Bagels, Noah's New York Bagels and Manhattan Bagel brands, also reported a near doubling of first-quarter earnings. Reuters (5/3), Nation's Restaurant News (free registration) (5/3) | |  | | Position Title | Company Name | Location | | Manager, Mast Global Operations & Integration | Limited Brands | Columbus, OH | | Customer Intelligence Strategist | GFS Marketplace | Grand Rapids , MI | | Director of Catalog Merchandising/Creative | Scrubs & Beyond, LLC | St. Louis , MO | | Senior Manager, Marketing | Total Wine & More | Potomac, MD | | Director of Payroll | Burlington Coat Factory | Burlington, NJ | | Merchandise Buyer | Gorsuch Ltd. | Vail, CO | | Senior Manager of Field Human Resources | Ollie's Bargain Outlet | Harrisburg, PA | | Buyer, Hardgoods | Moosejaw Mountaineering | Madison Heights, MI | | Senior Director of Quality and Product Safety | Walmart | Shenzhen, China | | Category Manager/Buyer | The Vitamin Shoppe | North Bergen , NJ | | Retail Merchandise Manager | Le Creuset of America, Inc./Schiller Stores, Inc. | Early Branch, SC | | Wholesale Visual Coordinator | MacKenzie-Childs LLC | New York, NY | | Director of Retail, Travel Hospitality Service | Delaware North Companies | Buffalo, NY | | Merchandise Planner | Burlington Coat Factory | Burlington, NJ | | Fashion Product Manager (Sourcing Manager) | Target | Minneapolis, MN | | Product Manager (Sourcing Manager) | Target | Minneapolis, MI | | Fashion Buyer | Target | Minneapolis, MN | | Target.com Merchandising Buyer | Target | Minneapolis, MN | | Retail Buyer - Home | Target | Minneapolis, MN | | Women's Designer Selling Manager | Saks Fifth Avenue | Beverly Hills, CA | | Merchandise Planner | Stein Mart | Jacksonville, FL | | | Click here to view more job listings. | | |
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More than half of Mother's Day celebrants will treat mom to a nice dinner or brunch. Source: 
