Marketing Tactics

Retail vet Peters named COO at digital innovator
James Peters held key leadership roles at Office Depot, Staples and Ross Stores but now the veteran operator is in a new role at a company giving new meaning to e-commerce.

Peters was named president and COO at San Francisco-based Delivery Agent where he had served on the board since last October. Delivery Agent’s business model is to turn viewers into revenue generating customers for brand and media companies.
J.C. Penney partners with InStyle on new in-store salon concept
Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney is partnering with InStyle magazine to reinvent its 850 in-store salons nationwide in a move that could help the retailer pump up its volume and increase traction with younger shoppers. The new concept, called The Salon by InStyle, will make its debut in July, at 15 locations across Chicago, Dallas, Miami and Los Angeles.

GE Capital: 2015 retail industry trends

New York -- A mixed economic backdrop is expected to drive modest retail sales growth in the 3% to 4% range in 2015, compared to 5.5% average growth in 2010-2012 and 5.8% in 2002-2006, according to GE Capital. Low- and mid-income households will be particularly constrained by stagnant earnings despite improvements in employment status and the housing market as well as lower gas prices.

According to GE Capital, the key trends in retail include the following:
Customer understanding key to retailer success

New York -- Customer analytics is a key component to retail success; CSA talked with Buxton's Bill Stinneford at NRF's Big Show in New York City about tech trends and the importance of understanding exactly who your customer is.

Watch video here.
Report identifies online Canadian shoppers as top target for U.S. retailers

New York -- U.S. retailers seeking to grow business with online shoppers across country borders should look to Canada, according to a report by Borderfree, a provider of international cross-border ecommerce solutions.
Gordon Bros., Hilco and Great American Group begin closing sales at Target Canada

Boston -- Three of the nation’s largest asset disposition companies were the successful bidders in the race to liquidate inventory at Target’s 133 Canadian locations.

Gordon Brothers Group, Hilco Global (through its Canadian division Merchant Retail Solutions) and affiliates of Great American Group secured approval from Target Canada and an order from a Canadian court to manage the store closing process for Target’s 133 Canadian locations, with store closing beginning February 5, 2015.
Liquidation dream team gets shot at Target Canada

It’s the end of an era that never really began for Target Canada as three of the biggest names in the asset disposition world begin store closing sales at Target’s 133 Canadian locations. Gordon Brothers Group, Hilco Global and Great American Group were the successful bidders at a Jan. 27 auction and secured approval from Target Canada and an order from a Canadian court to manage the store closing process for Target’s 133 Canadian locations.
Dillard’s cooks up nearly $1M for Ronald McDonald House

Sales of an exclusive holiday cookbook will allow Dillard’s to donate more than $900,000 to of Ronald McDonald House Charities. For the seventh year in a row, Dillard's offered for sale a special edition of the Southern Living Christmas Cookbook to benefit RMHC.
Pet expands 'Promise' to homeless families

PetSmart’s nationally acclaimed initiative to help house the pets of homeless families is expanding.

PetSmart Promise, which helps temporarily homeless families keep all members of their family together -– including their four-legged family members -– is expanding into 16 PetSmart PetsHotel locations nationwide. PetSmart Promise is the result of a collaboration between PetSmart and Family Promise.
Boot Barn marches on in Q3

Boot Barn continued its march of success in the third quarter, which produced another round of positive financial results.

The company reported that for the third quarter ended Dec. 27, net sales increased 13.1% to $130.5 million; same store sales, which include e-commerce sales, increased 7.2%; and net income was $8.8 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, compared to a net income of $6.3 million or $0.33 per diluted share.
Sally Beauty down in Q1; names new CEO

Sally Beauty Holdings reported decreased profits for the first quarter, but the company’s just-named CEO says new marketing programs will be paying off soon. Sally Beauty reported a profit of $54.9 million, or 35 cents a share, in its first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $58 million, or 35 cents a share last year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast a profit of 38 cents a share and sales increase of 3.7 percent to $975.1 million.
McMillon to speak at CRE event

The Emerging Trends in Retail conference will take place at a new data and time, but the big news is that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., president and CEO Doug McMillon will headline the annual event put on by the Center for Retailing Excellence.