Displays & Signs

NEW YORK — Same store sales at Bed Bath & Beyond could be in for a nice bump if a pricy new hair removal product becomes popular with shoppers.

Retailer and supplier consolidation has led to the demise of some conventional trade shows, but that’s not the case with the Sweets & Snacks Expo.

Record attendance is expected at the event scheduled for May 21 through May 23 in Chicago due in part to format changes by event organizer the National Confectioners Association and the strength of merchandise categories represented at the mega event.

In what turned out to be one of the stranger holiday seasons in recent memory retailers fought through a range of unconventional headwinds to deliver an uneven performance.

Tervis, the company best known for its virtually unbreakable, insulated tumblers, has launched a new store design that reflects its updated image. The brand, whose products can be personalized to any interest or occasion, underwent a major rebranding in 2011 and is now translating the image to brick-and-mortar stores.  

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — Dole’s entry into the annual New Year’s Day Rose Parade took home the top prize for the third consecutive year.

Dole’s float, called “Dreaming of Paradise,” received the parade’s Sweepstakes Trophy, the highest honor given for the float deemed to be the most beautiful entry.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — It’s not the latest iPhone or the newest Tablet, but Staples is touting a breakthrough in binder design for the New Year.

The Staples Better Binder boasts removable FileRings which the company contends make it the first such product to offer a feature that allows users to detach the rings from the shell for easy filing.

Atlanta -- CBL & Associates Properties and Horizon Group Properties announced that their jointly owned Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta will open one month earlier than previously announced – or on July 18, 2013.

Located in the North Atlanta suburb of Woodstock, Ga., the 370,000-sq.-ft. initial phase of the center will feature such designer outlet names as Nike, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH, Bose, Brooks Brothers, Columbia Sportswear, Cole Haan, White House|Black Market, Guess, Fossil, Michael Kors, Under Armour, and Talbots.  

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s Creative Ideas magazine is extending its reach into cyber territory to offer consumers home-improvement project ideas for the New Year.

Since its launch in 1998, the nearly 15-year-old magazine has enjoyed what it touts as one of the largest circulations for a free publication nationwide. Evolving with the times, the magazine now has a top-rated free iPad app in the iTunes Newsstand, as well as a robust following on Pinterest and more than 1,000 how-to videos available online at YouTube.com/Lowes.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Whirlpool brand's Whirlpool Gold Gas and Electric Ranges with TimeSavor Convection cooking systems earned the Good Housekeeping Seal from the Good Housekeeping Research Institute.  

Whirlpool’s TimeSavor Plus True Convection cooking system and AccuBake temperature management system work together to circulate hot air over, under and around food, which allow the range to cook and bake dishes evenly.

New York City -- Research results released Wednesday by Chase found that online holiday shopping sales for the season rose 15.2% year-over-year.

By event, the Chase Holiday Pulse reported that from Black Friday Nov. 23 through Friday, Nov. 30, year-over-year sales increased 22.5% and transactions increased 32.7%.