Strategy

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix Super Markets may be considering opening a smaller-store format, according to a report in The Gainesville Sun.

Yahoo has named the former marketing chief at JCPenney as its new senior vice president consumer marketing.

Debra Berman will be joining Yahoo as our new Senior Vice President of Consumer Marketing, reporting to me. Berman will join the Yahoo marketing team on July 6, bringing with her more than two decades of marketing experience.

Arlington, Va. — The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) is publicly urging members of the U.S. House of Representatives to approve H.R. 1314, a bill to renew Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and extend Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) legislation. The bill is scheduled for vote June 12.

The TPN division of global marketing and corporate communications giant Omnicon has worked with Walmart and its supplier community for more than 10 years and now that it has a physical presence in Northwest Arkansas the retail marketing agency is ready for some serious growth.

TPN, which stand for The Promotion Network, is part of Omnicon’s Diversified Agency Services division. TPN recently open an office in Bentonville and tapped John Meyer to lead the organization which is part of TPN’s 300 person organization with nine offices nationwide.

Etsy and the West Elm division of Williams-Sonoma continue to fuel the maker movement with new initiatives that were launched to coincide with a Presidential Proclamation establishing the National Week of Making.

In conjunction with an event at the White House and a proclamation by President Barack Obama, online retailer Etsy said it planned to expand its Craft Entrepreneurship program to 30 cities by July 2016 from the current 19 cities.

<The Neiman Marcus Group says currency exchange rates put pressure on traffic in the first quarter as the company reported a smaller than expected boost in same store sales. 

The retailer said same store sales increased 2.2% for the third quarter ended May 2 as the strong dollar had some impact on the retailer’s business.

Framingham, Mass. — Staples Inc. has received clearance from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China for its proposed $6.3 billion acquisition of Office Depot. Staples continues to seek clearance from regulatory agencies in the U.S., the European Union, Canada, and Australia.

The Commerce Commission of New Zealand gave its clearance for the transaction last week.

Shoe Carnival is planning to open smaller stores to leverage untapped markets in smaller communities, as well as the company's omnichannel capabilities.