Marketing

New research from an organization called the Luxury Institute found that half the executives in a recent survey are spending at least 30% of their marketing budget on digital methods with an even larger percentage concerned it isn’t enough.

The opportunity to be discovered and appear in a national TV ad later this year are being used to entice Kohl’s shoppers to submit videos singing the hit song “Let it Go” from the Disney movie Frozen.

Kohl’s and Disney created the digital campaign called Sing Your Heart Out and are giving fans of the movie Frozen until September 29 to submit videos of themselves singing the song Let it Go for a chance to be included in a Kohls holiday commercial that will air during the 2014 American Music Awards.

The nation’s largest wholesaler of retail returns, GENCO Marketplace, and marketing automation provider SnapRetail, have combined to bring new capabilities to those looking to efficiently and profitably liquidate merchandise.

The companies joined forces to offer new, easy-to-use online marketing tools to retailers and resellers within the $2.5 billion GENCO Marketplace who will receive special software pricing, access to free educational resources and one-on-one consultations from SnapRetail.

New York -- Sears Holdings Corp. said in regulatory filing that it would borrow $400 million from the hedge fund of its CEO, Edward Lampert, who is also the company’s largest shareholder.  

Sears received the first $200 million of the loan from Lampert's ESL Investments on Monday, and expects to receive the remaining amount on Sept. 30.

The company said it would use the money for “general corporate purposes.

New York -- Brookstone said its president and CEO, James M. Speltz, has resigned. The specialty retailer appointed Steve Schwartz, the company's chief merchandising officer, to serve as interim president and CEO.

Speltz helped Brookstone emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June. Also in June,  a bankruptcy court judge approved its sale to to a consortium of Chinese investors, Sailing Innovation Inc., for $135.7 million.

New York -- The hunt is on for a new president and COO at Dick's Sporting Goods. Dick’s disclosed in a regulatory filing that Joseph Schmidt is retiring as president and COO of the retailer, a role he has held since 2009, at year-end. In other changes, John Duken, executive VP of global merchandising since 2012, plans to retire, effective at the end of November.

Minneapolis -- Target plans to open its sixth TargetExpress store, in the South Park area of San Diego, in July 2015.

At approximately 19,000 sq. ft., the store will be about 14% of the size of a standard Target store (135,000 sq, ft.). Similar to other TargetExpress locations, it will offer an edited assortment that is locally relevant.

Plug and Play’s quarterly pitch competition event, Plug and Play Fall Expo 2014, is coming to Plug and Play’s campus in Sunnyvale, California. Fall Expo 2014 will feature 40-plus startup pitches, panel discussions and corporate networking. It will be held Thursday, Sept. 18, from 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. PDT.

Chain Store Age will be in attendance and we hope to see you there!

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop announced the appointment of Voin Todorovic as the company’s new CFO, effective Sept. 15. He assumes CFO responsibilities at Build-A-Bear Workshop from Tina Klocke, who had been serving as both the company’s CFO and COO. Klocke is leaving to pursue her interests in the not-for-profit business sector. She will remain with the retailer through first quarter 2015 and will retain her position as COO during this time.

Philadelphia -- The Mills announced plans for a multimillion dollar renovation of Franklin Mills, the largest outlet and value retail shopping destination in the Philadelphia region. The redevelopment will transform the center into a completely new shopping experience, and the name of the property has been changed to Philadelphia Mills to herald the transformation.