| May 22, 2012 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
- CEO: J.C. Penney's year of living dangerously
J.C. Penney will be "in the wilderness" for the next year or so as it works to reinvent the brand, CEO Ron Johnson told shareholders at the retailer's annual meeting last week. The retailer is working to transform the brand personality, pricing and promotional strategies, the merchandise mix and the look of the stores in its push to differentiate itself from other department stores, he said. "For us to succeed we've got to be the best at all of these." Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (5/21)       | Learn how retail and commercial real estate organizations use place-based decisions to manage change and grow profitability. Speakers from Jones Lang LaSalle, Kohler, and more will discuss location analytics at the Esri Business Summit in San Diego, July 22-24. See the summary of last year's presentations by Starbucks, Edward Jones, and others. | - How Yankee Candle increased productivity to handle growth
Candle manufacturer, retailer and wholesaler Yankee Candle saw sales rise 7.1% last year as it worked to efficiently manage growth with a distributed order management system. Yankee partnered with Manhattan Associates in 1998 to create the system, which integrates the company's multiple channels and offers real-time order and inventory views. STORES magazine (5/2012) - How Loblaw aims to retain its top spot
Loblaw president Vicente Trius took the helm of Canada's largest supermarket chain at a turbulent time, as competition heats up and Wal-Mart continues to capture more of the country's grocery shoppers. Spanish-born Trius, who took the job a year ago, plans to win the battle with a strategy that includes a renewed focus on the food. "We are actually bringing in better products not only because they look good, but because they taste a lot better." Financial Post (Canada) (5/18)  | The rate at which email senders are successfully placing opt-in emails into the inbox is dropping dramatically. Read The Global Email Deliverability Benchmark Report and learn which regions of the world and which industries are affected most. Discover why emails are not reaching the inbox and explore ways to take control of the problem. Get your free copy of the report here. |
 - Stores add services consumers can't download
U.S. retailers including Macy's, PetSmart and Coach are adding services and shaking up the merchandise mix at their brick-and-mortar stores in an effort to keep customers coming back. Only 31% of U.S. retail chains plan to add stores this year, according to NRF data, while many more are rethinking the ways they use their space. Reuters (5/21) - Brands revive mass customization for another round
It looks like mass customization's death -- an idea sparked by Procter & Gamble decision to abandon its Reflect project for thousands of custom lip shades in 2005 -- has been highly exaggerated. Revived projects by Nike and new ones by Burberry for customized clothing may start to answer to what is a demonstrable market demand extending to areas such as customized cereal mixes (Muesli) and frosting (Duncan Hines). Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (5/21) - Children's apparel sales heated up in Q1
Children's apparel and accessories added to their commanding market-share lead in the first quarter of 2012, comprising 37.3% of all purchases for kids compared to 36% in the same period last year, according to NPD Group. The data also showed that clothing ranked way below music, video games, consumer electronics and sporting equipment on children's wish lists. Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (5/21)  | Five Ways to Reduce eCommerce Costs
The retail eCommerce market continues to benefit from positive economic trends and sustained consumer enthusiasm for online shopping. This free white paper examines five tactics for reducing the costs associated with operating an online retail business. |
  | The recruiting ecosystem is changing, led by professional social networks like LinkedIn and social media apps like Jobvite. Examine how the new ecosystem creates a streamlined, scientific and democratic approach to the recruiting process in this free white paper. |
 - How to make your small business a success
Data show small businesses employ a significant percentage of the American workforce and were responsible for a large portion of the jobs created from 1993 to 2009. When launching a small business, you should focus on the most important tasks and be ready to change your strategy to fit the market. Fast Company online (5/21)  | 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! |
 | Policy & Government Affairs |  |  | | |  | - NRF kicks off 60-day push to pass online sales tax bill
NRF ran print ads Tuesday in Roll Call and the National Journal to kick off a 60-day campaign aimed at convincing Congress to pass a measure to allow states to require online retailers to collect sales tax. The first ads star Falls Road Running Store owner Jim Adams advocating laws that "level the playing field between online and brick-and-mortar retailers." Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (5/22)  | The Essential Guide to Choosing a Web Analytics and Online Marketing Solution
Today’s web analytics technologies are far superior to the relatively crude clickstream data capture of 10 years ago. Selecting a web analytics and online marketing solution is a high-stakes decision that can shape your company’s fortunes for years to come. Read this white paper to learn how to select the optimal solution for your needs. |
| NRF News | |  | | - Retailers to Congress: The time for e-fairness is now
 NRF launched an intensive mobilization campaign today to educate lawmakers and the public about the importance of a level sales tax playing field between online and brick-and-mortar retailers. A key piece of the initiative is a series of videos outlining the problem -- the first of which features Jim Adams, owner of Falls Road Running Store in Baltimore, Md., and Teresa Miller, owner of Treats Unleashed in St. Louis, Mo. Watch the video. - How retailers are raising the bar for Pinterest
While many retailers are still conjuring their Pinterest strategies, studies are beginning to reveal that Pinterest-driven users spend nearly twice as much as those coming from a retailer's Facebook or Twitter site. NRF Senior Vice President of Communities and Shop.org Executive Director Vicki Cantrell sat down with Washington, D.C., TV station WUSA 9 to explain which retail companies are staying ahead of the pack and how the virtual pinboard is having a positive effect on retailers' bottom lines. Read more.
| Chain Restaurant News | | | | - IHOP campaign harks back to chain's breakfast roots
IHOP has launched an ad campaign that puts the chain's focus back on breakfast, after years of heavily marketing its appeal as a lunch and dinner spot. Breakfast, which accounts for more than 60% of the iconic pancake house's sales, is the fastest growing and most lucrative daypart. "We haven't really celebrated or talked about breakfast for quite some time," said marketing executive Natalia Franco. Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model) (5/21) | |  | | Position Title | Company Name | Location | | Assistant Vice President, Allocation | dressbarn | Suffern/border line Mahwah, NJ , NY | | 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 | | 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 | | Merchandise Planner | Burlington Coat Factory | Burlington, NJ | | Divisional Private Brand Manager--Consumables/HBA | Shopko | Green Bay, WI, WI | | Buyer | Bed, Bath & Beyond | Union, NJ | | Merchandise Planner | Burlington Coat Factory | Burlington, NJ | | Retail Operations Manager | Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts | Waltham, MA | | Senior DBA - SQL Server - Oracle | Shopko | Green Bay, WI | | Selling Manager - Palm Beach, FL | Saks Fifth Avenue | Palm Beach, FL | | Vice President Real Estate | Spencer Gifts | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | Digital/Shopper Planning Director | TracyLocke | Wilton, CT | | Senior Vice President, Human Resources | Total Wine & More | Potomac, MD | | Direct Marketing Campaign Developer | Shopko | Green Bay, WI | | Circulation and Marketing Analyst | Shopko | Green Bay, WI | | Real Estate Manager | Shopko | Green Bay, WI | | Senior Buyer - Home/Furniture | Shopko | Green Bay, WI | | Senior Director of Quality and Product Safety | Walmart | Shenzhen, China | | Merchandise Planner | Stein Mart | Jacksonville, FL | | Senior Merchant | Golfsmith International | Austin, TX | | Vice President Planning and Allocation | Golfsmith International | Austin, TX | | | Click here to view more job listings. | | |
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Eight in 10 Americans think the nation needs a clearer approach to sales tax collection. 
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