| May 31, 2012 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
 | Hiring exceptional talent is critical to the success of your business. Whether it’s the executive who offers visionary leadership, or the sales professional who won’t settle for less than 100%, a business needs great people to thrive. This guide provides best practices for securing the top talent you need to drive business results. |
 - Sears puts fashion front and center
Sears is refashioning many of its stores to more prominently display high-profile fashion lines such as the Kardashian Kollection in a push to drive traffic and sales. "You'll hear customers say they don't think we have the merchandise. We have the merchandise, (and) we are trying to make it easier for them to see it," said retail formats COO Deidra Merriwether. Chicago Tribune (5/25)      - Baby boomers support Best Buy's Geek Squad -- for now
Best Buy's Geek Squad is a big hit with the less tech-savvy Baby Boomer crowd, many of whom have more money than know-how and don't mind spending to learn how to use new technology to make their lives better. "The problem is old people are not going to be replaced by another generation of old people who are not tech savvy," said analyst Michael Pachter. Minnesota Public Radio (5/30) - Wal-Mart ads take aim at Best Buy shoppers
Wal-Mart has taken out full-page ads in several U.S. markets where consumer-electronics retailer Best Buy is closing stores, urging shoppers to switch their business to Wal-Mart stores. Best Buy plans to close about 50 big-box stores this year, saying it will reinvest the money in smaller-format and experimental stores in a push to reverse falling sales. Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.) (5/29)  | 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! |
 - Teen Vogue aims to promote back-to-school holiday
Teen Vogue is partnering with advertisers including Aéropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Express and Guess on a promotion that designates Aug. 11 as Back-to-School Saturday, a shopping holiday aimed at teen girls for whom back-to-school shopping is as important as holiday shopping. Participating retailers and brands will celebrate the day with in-store and mall promotions, sales and free samples. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (5/30) - Sales bounce back in May
May brought stronger-than-expected sales increases at several U.S. retailers that report monthly sales, including Macy's, Limited Brands, Zumiez and Pier I. The Mother's Day holiday combined with lower gas prices helped spur customers to spend more in the month, after pulling back a bit in April. Reuters (5/31), The Wall Street Journal (5/31) - The importance of exclusivity in fashion retailing
Consumers are loyal to both their favorite retailers and their favorite brands. Brick-and-mortar stores and Amazon all have an opportunity to leverage those dual loyalties with exclusive lines from popular brands, writes Forbes' contributor Greg Petro. Forbes (5/30) - Behind the scenes of a big shoplifting bust
Law enforcement officials, loss-prevention experts from national retail chains and mall security professionals collaborated recently on a three-day undercover mission that netted 38 arrests and $20,000 in cleared shoplifting cases at Albuquerque's Coronado Mall. "We just hope this type of operation will influence other agencies, small or large, to go out and test it out and see what kind of fruit they get out of an undercover operation," said Gap loss-prevention executive Nelson Harrah. Security Director News (Langhorne, Pa.) (free registration) (5/25)  | How IBM is shortening the gap between customers and development value — Adoption of cloud services provides an alternative or complement to traditional development and test IT sourcing. In this white paper examine the challenges CIOs, IT managers and application development manager’s face as they attempt to select a cloud computing vendor to help them address development and test requirements. |
  | Learn 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 |  |  | | |  | - N.J. governor joins push for federal online sales tax bill
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie voiced support for the Marketplace Fairness Act during a Wednesday press conference to announce Amazon's plans to build two fulfillment in the state and start collecting sales tax from in-state shoppers. Christie's support comes amid NRF's 60-day push to raise awareness and support for the federal measure, which would allow states to require online retailers to collect sales tax. Retail's BIG Blog (5/31)  | 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. |
| NRF News | |  | | - Best practices for building your brand's story
Brand perception and building an engaging brand story are fundamentals to consumer awareness, engagement and sales. As NRF has focused on all-things retail marketing this month, Laura Gallagher, RAMA board member and president of The Creative Company, shares her expertise on brand building by explaining the core elements to achieving optimal brand perception, as well as exemplary companies in the industry that all retailers can learn from. Read more. Retail's BIG Blog (5/31)
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - Casual chains find added value in tabletop screens
Casual dining chains including Applebee's and Chili's are testing or adding tabletop tablet computers such as TableTop Media's Ziosk, which not only let patrons order and pay via the mobile devices, but also include games to keep children entertained during the meal. "Restaurants are faced with either being outside of that communication and just allowing it all to take place on guests' phones or they can be part of that," said TableTop CEO Austen Mulinder. The Wall Street Journal (5/30) | |  | | Position Title | Company Name | Location | | Director of Eastbay Brand | Footlocker.com/Eastbay | Wausau, WI | | Marketing Manager/Media Buyer | West Marine | Watsonville, CA | | Vice President of Marketing and Creative | Wisteria | Dallas, TX | | Senior Director/Director of Store Operations & Customer Service | BevMo! | Concord, CA | | Assistant Vice President, Allocation | dressbarn | Suffern/border line Mahwah, NJ , NY | | Marketing Director - NYC Store | Saks Fifth Avenue | New York, NY | | Buyer | Five Below, Inc. | Philadelphia, PA | | Merchandise Manager - Accessories / Footwear | Hanna Andersson | Portland, OR | | Experienced Retail/Wine Managers | Total Wine & More | Dallas - Fort Worth, TX | | Associate Buyer | Five Below, Inc. | Philadelphia, PA | | Divisional Merchandise Manager (DMM) | Perry Ellis International | Miami, FL | | Director of Merchandise Planning (General Merchandise) | Meijer | Grand Rapids, MI | | eCommerce Monetization Manager | Meijer | Grand Rapids, MI | | Director of Real Estate | Burlington Coat Factory | Los Angeles, CA | | Manager, Information Systems Internal Audit | PetSmart, Inc. | Phoenix, AZ | | Senior Merchant | Golfsmith International | Austin, TX | | Vice President Planning and Allocation | Golfsmith International | Austin, TX | | Merchant – Softlines | Golfsmith International | Austin, TX | | Senior Buyer - Home/Furniture | Shopko | Green Bay, WI | | Retail Operations Manager | Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts | Waltham, MA | | Senior DBA - SQL Server - Oracle | Shopko | Green Bay, WI | | Vice President Real Estate | Spencer Gifts | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | Digital/Shopper Planning Director | TracyLocke | Wilton, CT | | Merchandise Buyer - Multiple Categories | Kohl's Department Stores | Milwaukee/Menomonee Falls, WI | | Cosmetics Buyer (Experience Required) | Kohl's Department Stores | Milwaukee, WI | | | Click here to view more job listings. | | |
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Almost one quarter of loss prevention executives said organized retail crime occurred at their company's distribution center last year. Source: 
