Marketing

New York -- Friends of Howard Schultz, the outspoken and politically progressive founder and CEO of Starbucks, are urging him to enter the Democratic race for President, according to a report by Fortune.

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New York - Barnes & Noble Inc. on Monday completed the separation of its retail store and college businesses.

Following the spinoff, Michael Huseby, former CEO of Barnes & Noble, became executive chairman of Barnes & Noble Education, which will have a separate board of directors.

Hangzhou, China – Alibaba is launching an omnichannel partnership with one of professional basketball’s biggest stars. Alibaba Holding Group Inc. and Kobe Inc., a newly formed company by NBA player Kobe Bryant, will collaborate with Chinese media company Sina to create a new social media platform.

Boca Raton, Fla. - Office Depot, Inc. has been recognized for outstanding product quality and service by privately-held home builder David Weekley Homes.

This marks the 10th consecutive year that Office Depot has received the “A,A Partners of Choice” award given this year to 15 of David Weekley Homes’ suppliers.

Cincinnati – A redesign has upped the customer experience and increased sales at casual-dining chain Pollo Tropical.

The 120-plus-unit, Caribbean-themed casual-dining chain, part of Fiesta Restaurant Group, recently underwent a store redesign as part of a national growth strategy and repositioning, with the efforts led by FRCH Design Worldwide.

While Whole Foods and other food retailers struggle against increasingly stiff competition, Publix seems to be answering potential threats to its business with ease, if the company's second quarter results are any indication.

Fast fashion retailer Uniqlo is expanding its collection of Disney apparel and taking its partnership with Disney to a whole new level with a planned flagship store at Disney World.

The fast growing Japanese retailer will open a store in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., in the spring. It will be the retailer's first store in the southeastern U.S. Uniqlo already has 42 stores in the U.S. and plans to open more stores this year.

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Just in time for back-to-school season, Barnes & Noble's college bookstore division, which just separated from the the larger books and games retailer, is looking to acquire digital services to speed its growth.

J.C. Penney just poached two key executives to maximize the power, reach and integration of its omnichannel efforts.

The department store retailer named Michael Amend, former vice president of online, mobile and omnichannel for Home Depot, to the position of executive vice president of omnichannel effective immediately. He fills a position previously held by Mike Rodgers who left the company. Additionally, Mike Robbins, formerly the senior vice president of global supply chain for Target, will be joining the J.C. Penney as senior vice president of supply chain effective Aug. 10.

Ken Martindale, one of the key architects behind Rite Aid's recent growth, has been promoted to CEO Rite Aid Stores.