Marketing Tactics

Office Depot is seeking to attract more veterans and their families to its stores with a new discount program.

The retailer is teaming up with Veterans Advantage to reward active duty and retired military, veterans, National Guard and Reserve, and their families with a 20% discount on office supply purchases. Veterans Advantage discounts are available every day on regularly-priced items and can be combined online with the company’s standard free delivery on qualifying purchases of $50 or more within our local delivery areas.

Build-A-Bear Workshop is aiming to leverage the popularity of "Minions" with a new, interactive and customizable plush toy collection.

San Francisco – Williams-Sonoma Inc. exceeded Wall Street expectations with earnings and sales in the fiscal 2015 first quarter. From the same period the previous year, net income declined 3% to $44.79 million from $46.16 million.

Increases in cost of goods sold and selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses helped reduce net income. Net revenues rose 6% to $1.03 billion from $973.33 million. The West Elm banner had particularly strong sales growth.

One of Macy’s most glittering promotional events will be back this Fourth of July, and it will be bigger and bolder than ever.

Macy’s and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week that Macy’s will once again sponsor the nation’s largest Independence Day pyrotechnic display. This year Macy's is expanding the event to two locations. The show will begin at approximately 9:20 p.m. and dazzle the shorelines of Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.

Evansville, Ind. – Shoe Carnival Inc. saw net income and sales increase during the first quarter of fiscal 2015 as selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses and cost of sales rose at a slower pace than revenues.

Net income totaled $10.4 million, up 8% from $9.2 million the same period a year earlier.

Net sales increased 7% to $252.77 million, from $235.77 million. Same-store sales climbed 3%.

Stein Mart is not only growing its footprint but the off-price retailer is also growing same store sales as well.

Same-store sales rose 4.8% in the first quarter ended May 2. Net income fell 3% to $13.6 million from $14.1 million a year earlier, with higher loan interest expense a major contributor. Net sales increased 7% to $353.5 million, from $328.9 million.

New York -- Merchandise misfires are the bane of specialty apparel retailers. Most recently, Anthropologie, a division of Urban Outfitters, missed big time with its spring collection of cocktail dresses and maxis, which customers apparently found too pricey and/or not to their liking.

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Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart announced the next step in its Veterans Welcome Home Commitment by guaranteeing a job offer to any eligible U.S. veteran honorably discharged from active duty since the commitment’s original launch on Memorial Day 2013.

The previous commitment was for veterans within 12 months off active duty. In addition to the Veterans Welcome Home Commitment, Walmart is expanding its 2013 projection of hiring 100,000 veterans by 2018, increasing the projection to 250,000 veterans by the end of 2020.