Marketing

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar Stores launched its strategic alignment with Marketing Management, Inc. (MMI) in front of more than 100 key suppliers at the company's Private Brand Summit Thursday in Charlotte, N.C. Through this exclusive on-site alignment, MMI will assist Family Dollar with private brand sourcing, product development, category analytics, assortment strategy, quality assurance and customer insights.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Sears Holdings has joined other retailers, including Barnes & Noble, in inviting Amazon.com affiliates to work with it following Amazon's response to recent legislation related to collected taxes on e-commerce purchases.

The Walmart board approved a hefty 21% increase to what was already one of the retail industry’s richest dividend payouts, the company announced late Thursday. The increase approved by the board puts Walmart’s annual dividend at $1.46 a share for the current fiscal year compared with last year’s dividend of $1.21. The dividend will be paid in quarterly installment of 56.5 cents.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Overstock.com announced that it won two 2011 Stevie Awards for sales and customer service, in the following categories -- Customer Service Department of the Year, Retail and Sales Department of the Year, All Other Industries.

Now in its fifth year, the Stevie Awards selected winners in 40 award categories honoring achievements, individuals, teams and departments by industry in the sales field and 25 award categories honoring individuals, team and departments by industry in the customer service/contact center awards field.

New York City -- Foot Locker’s fourth-quarter net income more than doubled to $57 million on fewer charges and improved revenue.

The company reported a 5% increase in sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010, to $1.39 billion, up from $1.33 billion in the year-ago period. Same-store sales rose 7.3%.

Foot Locker reported net income of $169 million for the full year. That compares with net income of $48 million, in 2009.

New York City -- Building upon the momentum in retail real estate in the recovering economy, Chain Store Age has debuted a new community-oriented “micro-site” for retail real estate executives and shopping center developers. Called “Community” and accessible from chainstoreage.com, the new site offers such features as project of the week, mall marketing spotlight, and bylined articles from industry experts.

GNC branded nutritional products are now being offered in 400 Sam’s Clubs in keeping with the club retailer’s efforts to gain market share in the health and wellness area. The GNC brand allows Sam’s to offer a differentiated product assortment and shopping experience from club competitors, as plans call for GNC to rotate pallets of its top-selling private label items throughout the year. The first two items include a two-pound container of GNC Pro Performance AMP Amplified 100% Whey Protein for $18.98 and a 1.7 pound bottle of GNC Total Lean Lean Shake for $22.98.

SAN DIEGO -- ShowUhow Inc., developer and provider of on-demand, video-based Product Guides, has appointed Anthony Wyatt to EVP sales and marketing.

Wyatt will be responsible for leading the sales and marketing initiatives at ShowUhow and is challenged to drive the company to its next strategic milestones. He will be leading a national sales strategy for the ShowUhow team to target leading product manufacturers and top retailers.