Events

As senior editor of Chain Store Age it is my pleasure to welcome you to the first edition of our new Customer Disruption e-newsletter. Every other Thursday, I will be presenting you with content from the Chain Store Age website and magazine highlighting how retailers are using technology to provide customers with the type of seamless, personalized shopping experience they have come to expect.

Cary, N.C. – The Pantry has confirmed that JCP Investment Management, LLC, and Lone Star Value Management, LLC (“the dissident group”) submitted a notice of intent to nominate director candidates to stand for election to The Pantry’s board of directors at the company's 2014 annual meeting of stockholders.

Washington, D.C. -- Wal-Mart Stores announced that it has created a $10 million fund to support manufacturing in the United States. In a joint announcement, Kent International, a New Jersey-based bicycle maker and one of the chain’s suppliers, said  that it will move its production from overseas to Clarendon, S.C.

Mars Chocolate North America will debut a new 30-second M&M'S Peanut commercial in the first half of Super Bowl XLVIII Sunday, Feb. 2, featuring Yellow.

Yellow was first introduced along with M&M'S Peanut in 1954. But the character usually plays second fiddle to Red.

Washington, D.C. - Integrating store and online operations is a key focus for retailers as e-commerce capable solutions increasingly supplant traditional POS and mobile technologies. According to a new study conducted by the NRF, Demandware and the University of Arizona that polled more than 200 U.S. and European retail business technology executives, more than one-third (35.8%) of retailers surveyed are considering a single platform to manage interactions and transactions across all channels.

Walmart U.S. President and CEO Bill Simon joined 280 of the nation's mayors in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Meeting to announce a new fund for innovation in American manufacturing and a new supplier commitment to bring production of bikes and jobs to South Carolina.

Hudson’s Bay Company plans to launch a new mobile shopping application for both Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor.

HBC is partnering with Pounce, a consumer-facing mobile app, to integrate traditional media with m-commerce, providing customers the opportunity to purchase merchandise displayed in print media using tablets and smartphones.

According to Pounce, it is the only Hudson’s Bay- and Lord & Taylor-approved mobile app that allows customers to instantly buy products seen in print by simply scanning an image.

Dallas — Two new Dickey’s Barbecue Pits will open on January 23, one in Lumberton, Texas, and another in Fairmont, W. Va. Both will offer the first 50 customers gift cards for up to $50.

The Lumberton location will be franchise owner Andy Maredia’s second Dickey’s franchise in the area. He plans to open more locations in the future.

The Fairmont franchisees Joe and Bonnita Pena plan to open five additional locations.