Marketing

Two mid-sized U.S. and Canadian chains are joining forces to create the third-largest pet specialty retailer and the largest small format, neighborhood specialty pet retailer in North America   Pet Valu and Pet Supermarket have merged to create a combined business named Pet Retail Brands. With more than 930 stores, it is expected to generate approximately $1 billion in system-wide retail sales across the U.S. and Canada. Pet Retail Brands will have stores from the East Coast to the West Coast and from Miami to Vancouver.  

Staples Inc.is looking north of the border for an executive to lead its North American operations.   The office supply giant is promoting Steve Matyas to president of North American retail. Matyas had previously served as president of Staples Canada/Bureau en Gros since July 2000, and will continue to serve as a member of the company’s executive committee.  

Nordstrom remains in expansion mode with its Nordstrom Rack division.   A 26,000-sq. ft. Nordstrom Rack is scheduled to open in spring 2017, at CityPlace, a 100-acre, master-planned development in Woodbury, Minn.   The property is owned and managed by Elion Partners, a Florida-based real estate investment firm.     

Beset by declining sales, growing competition and changing consumer tastes, Ralph Lauren has launched an ambitious turnaround plan that includes a heavy brand emphasis.    

Blink is eyeing retail expansion thanks to new financing.  

Hhgregg is on the move.   The appliances, electronics and furniture retailer said it intends to open 25-30 Fine Lines appliance locations over the next two years. Hhgregg currently has 14 Fine Lines stores, including three new locations, with two in Ohio and one in Indianapolis.     

Target Corp. is tapping into its consumer base, including kids, to stay on an upward trajectory.

Payment processing platform Worldpay isn’t naming names, but appears to be owning up to playing a major role in the Etsy transactional outage.   Since July 1, what Etsy has described as a third-party payments processing issue has stalled thousands or even millions of online transactions. In a running thread on the online marketplace’s “Bugs” community forum, some users have been posting that their delayed orders have gone through, but others still complain of inability to process payments.  

Alex Cesar, who had been running JLL’s retail department in Brazil, has been hired by RKF to head up its Miami office.   “Alex will be a crucial driver of our expansion in South Florida and will strengthen the bridge between the Latin American and U.S. retail markets,” said RKF CEO Robert Futterman in announcing the move.