Marketing

Fort Lee, N.J. -- The majority of shoppers take notice of such packaging claims as "made in the USA," and most of them are more likely to purchase a product after breaking down demographics.

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. said Thursday it will increase its quarterly dividend by 30% to 15 cents per share, payable Dec. 1.

The grocer said the move is prompted by a strong confidence in its business strategy.
 

Seattle -- It’s official: Nordstrom is expanding into Canada. The department store chain on Thursday announced that it will open its first full-line stores in Canada, starting in fall 2014. It named veteran Nordstrom executive Karen McKibbin, most recently VP president and regional manager of Northern California and Hawaii, as president of Nordstrom Canada.

Nordstrom said is partnering with commercial real estate company Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited to lease four stores at shopping centers in Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Boston -- City Sports said Wednesday it has named Edward Albertian as president and CEO of the 21-store chain.

Albertian joins the company from Trans National Group, where he was president and CEO. He has also served as senior VP retail operations at Staples.

Albertian's appointment follows the departure of City Sports’ previous president and CEO Jeff Connor, who resigned last month.

The overall drop in number of circulars continued this month, with a six percent decrease in the number of inserts being released to the market among selected retailers.  

The overall number of pages per market remained the same with a marginal increase compared to previous year. Walmart had the largest increase in pages per market with a larger focus on “Back to School” with 5 circulars with a prominent “Back to School” theme.  

PURCHASE, N.Y. — PepsiCo announced that its current president is resigning from his post.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer's "Simply Give Week" garnered more than $145,000 in donations from its customers. The effort, combined with the commitment from Meijer to double all donations made Sept. 2 to 8, brought the week's total donation to $437,400, Meijer co-chairman Hank Meijer said.

Meijer launched Simply Give Week to support Hunger Action Month in September and highlights its continuing commitment to hunger relief.

SAN FRANCISCO — Gap Inc. is celebrating the 35th anniversary of Gap Foundation at a special gathering at the company's San Francisco headquarters on Sept. 13.

“We’re proud to celebrate 35 years of Gap Inc. employees fulfilling the promise made by Doris and Don Fisher to ‘do more than sell clothes,’” said Bobbi Silten, president of Gap Foundation. “It’s an exciting milestone for everyone involved with the company.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Fashion consultant Fern Mallis will debut a jewelry collection for HSN on Oct. 10.

The 22-piece assortment features various statement pieces including a show-stopping layered necklace with matching cuff, embellished bangles, chunky necklaces and gem encrusted rings and earrings from $35 to $139.

Boston-based City Sports names Edward Albertian as president and CEO

The 21 store chain said Albertian had joined the company after serving the prior seven years as president and CEO of Trans National Group.