Corporate Governance

All systems are go and the holiday season is clear for takeoff at Macy's Herald Square in New York City.

That’s because this year’s Macy’s Christmas window display, “Santa’s Journey to the Stars,” traces the adventures of Alex, a young boy who receives a magical and mystical telescope that allows him to experience the wonder of Christmas on other planets before landing back on Earth at the iconic Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Fremont, Calif. - Men's Wearhouse will open the first-ever Joseph Abboud retail store in midtown Manhattan in spring 2015. The store follows the launch of JosephAbboud.com in early November.   

St. Petersburg, Fla. - HSN Inc. has named Jeffrey Kuster as president of Cornerstone and executive officer of HSNi. Kuster, 48, has held various leadership positions in the apparel, fashion and retail industries, most recently as executive VP, chief marketing and strategy officer for Berkshire Hathaway's Fruit of the Loom.  

By Kosha Gada  

Just a few weeks after taking over several regional bedding companies, Mattress Firm reported profits of $15.6 million or 45 cents per share, compared to $18.1 million or 53 cents per share for the year-ago quarter. Sales for the third quarter increased 42.3% to $464 million from $326 million a year ago, reflecting same-store sales growth of 8.5%.

HSN Inc. has named Jeffrey Kuster president of Cornerstone and executive officer of HSNi. Kuster will report to HSNi CEO Mindy Grossman.

Kuster, 48, has held various leadership positions in the apparel, fashion and retail industries, most recently as EVP and chief marketing and strategy officer for Berkshire Hathaway's Fruit of the Loom.

Data migrations and system upgrades usually require at least some downtime. In fact, 81% of companies schedule migrations overnight or on weekends when fewer people are working, and fewer customers can potentially be disrupted by downtime. Particularly in this era of 24/7 online ecommerce, some degree of business risk always accompanies downtime.

 

Downtime costs the retail industry $18 billion annually, according to market research firm IDC. But it doesn’t have to.

 

Cambridge, Mass. — New customers whose first transaction involves a discount or special offer are 50% less likely to return to make a second purchase. According to a new study from loyalty technology provider Coherent Path Inc., customers who visit an e-commerce site for the first time and make a purchase at full-price are more than twice as likely to make a second visit.