Friendly's

Changes in the retail landscape call for changes in lease agreements, as well

With long-time anchors leaving malls, urgent care clinics moving into neighborhood centers, and online sellers applying pressure from all sides, retailers should take a new approach in structuring their lease agreements with property owners, say experts from both sides of the negotiations table.

Atlanta - Arby's Restaurant Group Inc. (ARG) is promoting John Bowie, senior VP of operations, to COO, reporting to Paul Brown, CEO. The promotion was announced as George Condos, ARG president and COO, announced his retirement.  

Bowie will assume responsibilities as COO on March 30, at which point Condos will continue on through the end of the year as a consultant for Arby's.

Petco and the San Diego Padres are opening the gates of Petco Park to man's best friend during their annual "Dog Days of Summer" event July 29, and throwing the first pitch will be Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy, alongside his famous Sochi pooch.

Kenworthy gained notoriety not only on the slopes in the 2014 Winter Olympics, but off as well, as he made it his mission to save the stray dogs of Sochi and find them loving homes.

Columbia, Md. -- Micros Systems said Monday that Friendly’s Ice Cream has expanded its partnership with Micros through the addition to its technology solution set of online ordering and a guest loyalty program.

To support its initiative of adding to its customer base and retaining current customers, Friendly's has elected to deploy Micros webOrdering and Micros iCare Customer Relationship Management solutions.

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — Ahead of the toy industry's annual convention this February, The NPD Group has reported that U.S. retail sales of toys generated $21.18 billion in 2011 compared with $21.68 billion in 2010, a decline of 2%. 

GLENDALE, Calif. — Ahead of the upcoming Licensing International Expo in Las Vegas, Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney showcased the companies plans to expand its retail presence. According to Mooney, who was speaking at a media presentation, sales of Disney-branded merchandise have grown at a compounded rate of 12% per annum over the last 10 years. 

Long Beach, Calif.  -- Epson America announced that Friendly's Express, a new fast-casual concept from Friendly Ice Cream Corp., is using Epson's TM-T88 ReStick thermal printer with MAXStick liner-free, biodegradable and recyclable labels to identify orders in all five of its locations. By installing an intelligent label interface into the Epson ReStick printer, Friendly's Express was able to configure its point-of-sale (POS) systems to print individual item labels for only its carryout orders.