Marketing

Alpharetta, Ga. - McAlister's Deli has signed an agreement with existing franchise group Southern Deli Holdings LLC to open 10 additional locations throughout North and South Carolina, Colorado and Wyoming, with three locations slated to open in late 2014. In addition, the franchise group recently acquired seven existing locations in St. Louis.

The new development commitments will result in two new restaurants per year during the next five years.

Dallas – Haggar Clothing Co. has hired Eve Richey as chief digital officer, effective Sept. 15. Richey, formerly VP of global digital marketing for Toms Shoes, will be responsible for creating a seamless approach to the consumer experience across a variety of shopping channels.

Richey will report directly to Michael Stitt, CEO of Haggar Clothing Co. She brings more than 14 years of experience developing and executing digital omnichannel strategies and implementing e-commerce solutions for brands such as Toms Shoes and Dell.

By Gary Lee, InReality

Fort Worth, Texas – A class-action settlement RadioShack Corp. reached with consumers that offered them $10 vouchers as compensation for printing their credit and debit card expiration dates on receipts has reportedly been overturned by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. According to Reuters, a panel of three federal judges said the total $1 million settlement is too small considering the amount of legal fees that must be paid.

Sunrise, Fla. - Pet Supermarket has recently opened its 150th store in Bartow, Florida. The per supply retailer now has more than 100 in Florida, as well as stores in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Kentucky, California and Nevada, and is continuing to consider real estate opportunities in the states and markets it serves, as well as others.

Dublin, Calif. – DD’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores Inc., will open a new store in Orlando on Sept. 27. The store is located in the Century Plaza. 

Including this new location, DD’s Discounts will operate approximately 150 locations in 13 states and is on schedule to complete its expansion plan to open approximately 20 locations in 2014. Together, Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discounts currently operate more than 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

Leading commerce platform Shopify is gearing up for its fifth annual Build A Business competition, which it touts as the world's biggest entrepreneurial contest encouraging anyone with a great business idea to start selling.

Shopzilla wanted to highlight its recent transformation from comparison shopping to technology driven marketing solutions. To that end, it has changed its name to Connexity.

According to the company, its new solutions enable retailers and brands to understand their consumers better, acquire new customers at a lower cost and increase sales based on retail signals that it provides.

Dole has teamed up with actress Ali Larter to introduce Dole Garden Soup, a premium line of packaged, ready-to-serve soups.

According to Dole, the line of soups — which is packaged in BPA-free boxes — has no preservatives or MSG, and is available in five low-fat, gluten-free and cholesterol-free varieties: Roasted Garlic Tomato Basil, Tomato Vegetable, Carrot Ginger, Southwestern Black Bean & Corn and Sweet Corn.

Dallas-based apparel company Haggar Clothing has appointed Eve Richey as chief digital officer, reporting to CEO Michael Stitt.

Richey will be responsible for creating a seamless approach to the consumer experience across a variety of shopping channels, including the design, development and implementation of digital-commerce solutions that ensure customer and retailer demands and expectations are exceeded.