Marketing

RadioShack has launched RadioShack Labs to support inventors and startups and boost new product innovation, offering a roadmap that takes them from concept to production to distribution.

The company teamed up with PCH, a respected leader in product innovation, to launch the labs. As part of the relationship, RadioShack intends to offer select PCH Access companies special retail terms, and create a direct path to up to 2,000 RadioShack stores and preferred positioning on radioshack.com.

Staples plans to open a development center in downtown Seattle, near the Pioneer Square/International District — its second in the West Coast — staffed with e-commerce and engineering teams, which will be responsible for enhancing search, SEO and personalization.

Spanx has named Jan Singer as CEO, reporting to founder and owner of the company, Sara Blakely.

Interim CEO Gregg Ribatt will assist Singer through a transition period, and then continue to serve on the company’s board of advisers. Singer is expected to join the company officially in early July.

Petco and the San Diego Padres are opening the gates of Petco Park to man's best friend during their annual "Dog Days of Summer" event July 29, and throwing the first pitch will be Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy, alongside his famous Sochi pooch.

Kenworthy gained notoriety not only on the slopes in the 2014 Winter Olympics, but off as well, as he made it his mission to save the stray dogs of Sochi and find them loving homes.

Persistent winter weather took a bite out of Stein Mart’s net income in the first quarter, but the retailer rallied once the weather improved. It closed the quarter with total and comparable-store sales increases, and the upward trend has continued through May.

The company reported total sales for the four-week period ended May 31 of $109.6 million, a 2.2% increase over total sales of $107.3 million for the four-week period ended June 1 last year. Comparable store sales for the month increased 0.4% from comparable store sales for the same month last year.

San Jose, Calif. -- Hispanic supermarket chain Mi Pueblo Foods announced its formal emergence from Chapter 11 reorganization after having completed a necessary financial restructuring. The company also announced that Javier Ramirez has been named president and CEO. He will succeed Mi Pueblo founder Juvenal Chavez, who will be named chairman of the board.
 
Ramirez is a seasoned CEO in the Hispanic food and grocery sector.
   

Oak Brook, Ill. -- The J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Home Improvement Retailer Store Satisfaction Study has ranked Ace Hardware “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Home Improvement Retail Stores” for the eighth year in a row. Ace has captured this ranking ever since the organization began this study eight years ago.

Las Vegas -- The Hershey Company has opened a retail flagship, Hershey’s Chocolate World at New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

The store, which occupies two floors and has an eye-catching 74-ft. high Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar that visitors can walk through, is designed to provide shoppers with an experiential concept that immerses them in more than 800 candy and chocolate offerings.

Green Bay, Wis. -- Shopko announced that veteran pharmacy executive Michael Cantrell has joined the company as senior VP, retail health. In this role, Cantrell will provide strategic direction for Shopko's pharmacy, optical and Rx e departments.  

Cantrell, a registered pharmacist and licensed attorney, is joining Shopko from Delhaize America, where he was VP of pharmacy. Prior to Delhaize America, Cantrell held various executive positions at AmerisourceBergen and Longs Drugs.