Marketing

Seattle – Amazon.com is launching yet another new marketplace. Amazon Business provides access to hundreds of millions of products, as well as business-only selection and pricing.

Amazon Business customers will also receive free two-day shipping on tens of millions of eligible items, multi-user business accounts, custom spending approval workflows, integration with third-party procurement solutions, automated tracking of tax exemptions, dedicated customer support, order tracking, and corporate credit options.

Minneapolis – Net earnings at Supervalu Inc. fell 14% to $36 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 from $42 million in the identical period a year earlier. Higher selling and administrative expenses, including store closure and benefit costs, helped reduce profits.

Minneapolis – Brian Cornell, CEO of Target Corp., reportedly received total compensation of $28.2 million in 2014. According to the Wall Street Journal, that figure includes $14 million in “make-whole” compensation he was paid for leaving his previous position as CEO of PepsiCo in August 2014.

Cornell also received a prorated salary of $595,000 from Target, among other compensation.

Matthews, N.C. - Family Dollar Stores Inc. has announced the passing of Mark R. Bernstein, a member of the company's board of directors, on April 27. Bernstein was among Family Dollar’s longest tenured board members, having joined the board in 1980.

Bernstein most recently served as lead director from 2004 to January 2013.

San Diego - After a successful pilot in Boston and San Francisco, Petco is expanding its partnership with Instacart. Beginning April 28, customers in 14 metro areas served by Instacart can order from Petco stores and have everything delivered in as little as one hour.

Instacart currently serves 15 metro areas: Atlanta, Austin, Boulder, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland (OR), San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Washington, D.C. The company plans to add several more cities before the end of 2015.

Chain Store Age recently had the chance to speak with noted consumer trend expert Faith Popcorn, founder and CEO of marketing consulting firm Faith Popcorn’s BrainReserve, about steps McDonald’s can take to reverse its struggling fortunes. Popcorn’s insights come on the heels of McDonald’s reporting a 33% year-over-year drop in profits for first quarter 2015.

Bigger Isn’t Always Better
According to Popcorn, McDonald’s vast size is not necessarily an asset anymore.

Family Dollar Stores Inc. has announced the passing of Mark R. Bernstein, a member of the company's board of directors, on April 27.

The CEO of Overstock.com says the majority of its sales are coming from mobile as the Internet retailer reported a $1.2 million decrease in profit for the first quarter.

Toys“R”Us and Toysrus.com are set to bring customers to a galaxy far, far away with a year-long omnichannel celebration in honor of the epic Star Wars saga.

When CEOs from Walgreens, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo and other global leaders gather in New York in late June for the Consumer Goods Forum’s Annual Summit, one of the thorny issues to be addressed is that people don’t trust them to do what is right.