Marketing Tactics

Online retail marketplace Jet.com is making a big move in the home goods market.

Jet.com is purchasing Omaha, Nebraska-based online home products retailer Hayneedle for an undisclosed sum. The sale was announced in tweets on the official Hayneedle Twitter account. In addition, Jet.com founder, chairman and CEO Marc Lore and Hayneedle president and CEO Jon Barker confirmed the acquisition in an interview with the Omaha World-Herald.

Whole Foods Market is launching a new format that aims to cater to the downtown business crowd, only this time there's no bricks-and-mortar involved. The grocery chain is launching a food truck in Austin, Texas, in March, according to the Austin Business Journal. The retailer plans to offer sandwiches and salads at first and likely expand the menu eventually. [Austin Business Journal]

Young girls are notoriously picky about what they wear, and a new online shopping service founded by the former chairman and CEO of A Children’s Place is looking to do something about it.

The Retail Design Institute will hold its 45th Annual Awards Gala & Fundraiser on March 12, 2016, at the Hilton Anatole, Dallas, the night before the kickoff of Chain Store Age’s SPECS Conference.

The winners of the competition, including the Store of the Year, will be unveiled at the event, which will also showcase the latest trends in materials, signage, fixturing and in-store technology.

Minneapolis -- CBRE’s Capital Markets Investment Properties Group announced it has arranged the sale of White Bear Marketplace, located in St. Paul Minnesota, on behalf of its client, Oppidan Investment Company. CBRE’s SVP Jim Leary and senior associate Jeff Budish represented Oppidan Investment Company in the transaction.

J.C. Penney continues to be a bright spot in the retail sector with impressive increases in same store sales and earnings, as well as a new marketing campaign that is generating a lot of buzz.

On Thursday the retailer announced that same store sales grew 4.1 % for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30. A combination of strong sales growth, accelerated gross margins and disciplined expense reduction resulted in full year adjusted EBITDA of $715 million, a $435 million increase.

Online deal provider Groupon has joined an elite group – companies that have sold one billion products.

In Groupon’s case, the product is also known as a “Groupon,” or a limited-time, localized online promotion. It took Groupon, which launched in October 2008, roughly seven-and-a-half years to reach the billion-Groupon mark.

San Diego -- OliverMcMillan announced plans to transform the former theatre building at 5th Avenue and G Street located in the Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego.

“Our vision is to revitalize this active corner perfectly situated in the heart of the Gaslamp. Redeveloping this prime site will provide Downtown more opportunities to engage our local community and tourists alike,” said Dene Oliver, CEO of OliverMcMillan.