Events

Plug and Play, a business accelerator that specializes in tech startups, is holding its quarterly pitch competition event on its campus in Sunnyvale, California, on Thursday, September 18, from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. PDT. The Plug and Play Fall Expo 2014 will feature 40-plus startup pitches, panel discussions and corporate networking. Chain Store Age will be in attendance — watch for a recap in the next edition of Customer Disruption!

The Network of Executive Women (NEW) has confirmed retail executives from Walgreens, Home Depot, Family Dollar, Publix and Walmart as featured participants at the organization’s Leadership Summit this fall.

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.

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!

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.

Goya Foods plans to open a state-of-the-art distribution center in Georgia to aid with the expansion of their business in the southeast region.

Located at 4005 Haworth Pkwy., in McDonough, the facility will be officially inaugurated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, Sept. 17, between 10:30 a.m. and 2p.m. McDonough’s Mayor Billy Copeland will be present for the ceremony.

Brookstone president and CEO James M. Speltz has resigned. The product development company and specialty retailer with 240 stores in malls and airports across the U.S has appointed chief merchandising officer Steve Schwartz as interim president and CEO.  

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot Inc. will transfer the listing of its common stock from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The company expects its common stock to cease trading on the NYSE effective at the close of business on Sept. 25, and to commence trading on Nasdaq on Sept. 26, when the market opens.

The company will retain its current ticker symbol “ODP” when trading begins on Nasdaq.

Plug and Play helps bring together retailers and startups who offer specific technology and expertise that can relieve their pain points. In each issue of our Customer Disruption e-newsletter, we will provide you a brief Q&A with the CEO of a Plug and Play startup, explaining how their company assists retailers in succeeding in today’s disruptive customer environment.

This week’s CEO Corner features three questions with Judd Ferrer, CEO of Sparkle.

What does your company do?

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. plans to open four new stores on Sept. 18. The new stores will be located at the Pinnacle Promenade in Rogers, Arkansas, Ingram Festival in Ingram, Texas, Waugh Chapel Town Center in Crofton, Maryland, and Evansville Pavilion in Evansville, Indiana.

Stores offer the DSW Rewards loyalty program, and customers can also participate in the Shoe Lovers program on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.