Marketing

To tap growing global demand among shoppers in Australia and New Zealand, Alibaba opened its new international office in Melbourne.   On Saturday, Feb. 4, the e-commerce giant opened its new headquarters as a means of extending its reach — and product availability — to shoppers across the two countries, Reuters reported.   

On the heels of disappointing financial results, Tiffany & Co. said that Frederic Cumenal has stepped down as CEO, effective immediately.    Cumenal, who had run the company since April 2015, is being succeeded on an interim basis by chairman and former CEO Michael Kowalski, while the company searches for a permanent replacement.    

Whole Foods Market makes its El Paso debut with a store that reflects the culture and flavor of the locale.   The 45,000-sq.-ft. store is bright and colorful, with a lively atmosphere. Individual departments stand out with their own distinctive color palette and lighting, with signage in both English and Spanish.      The space features a meeting room for community events, and an 82-seat bar and restaurant (“Thunderbird Taproom”).     

Kirkland’s same-store sales fell in the fourth quarter amid weak traffic early in December.   The home décor chain reported that its net sales for the 13 weeks ended January 28, 2017, increased 2.1% to $203.2 million compared to the year-ago period. Same- store sales for the quarter, including e-commerce sales, decreased 4.6%.  

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is making a new strategic investment — one that will up the ante in the hyper-competitive e-commerce marketplace.  

PriceSmart is ready to break ground on its newest locations.    The warehouse club retailer has acquired approximately 242,000 sq. ft. of land in Santa Ana, Costa Rica — the home of its newest warehouse club set to open in the fall. This will be the chain’s seventh club operating in Costa Rica.  

More than 100 retailers and trade associations, including Walgreens Boot Alliance, Rite Aid, Walmart and Target, have joined the Americans for Affordable Products coalition in an effort to stop the Border Adjustment Tax, otherwise known as BAT, which is a component of the U.S. House Republican tax reform proposal.  

Dollar General is setting records with its upcoming employment search.   With plans to open 1,000 new stores and two new state-of-the-art distribution centers this year, the chain is preparing to fill approximately 10,000 new jobs — about a 9% overall increase to its workforce.    The hiring spree marks the largest one-year employee increase through organic store and distribution center growth in the company’s 78-year history, the chain said.  

Ivanka Trump-branded items will soon be a thing of the past at Nordstrom.  

Amazon had a very good holiday, but wasn’t quite as stellar as the Street predicted.   The retail giant’s net sales increased 22% to $43.74 billion in the fourth quarter, lower than analysts had expected. The company’s outlook for the fourth quarter also fell short of expectations.   Net income, however, surpassed analysts’ estimates, and jumped to $749 million, compared to $482 million in fourth quarter 2015.