Target, Inc.

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in December 2013 vs. December 2014 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains. CVS used longer but fewer December circulars, increasing circular pages by 18%. The CVS Christmas Clearance Sale circular was not seen in 2014. Walgreens cut two December 2014 comparable circulars accounting for the 22% drop in circular pages. CVS added a large “THROW THE PERFECT PARTY” promotional block on the inside front page of the 2014 holiday week circular featuring snacks, cookies, coffee, ice cream and sparkling cider.

Target shoppers looking for the next big thing in fashion are in for a splash of color and bold prints from the retailer’s next design partner.

Target has announced it is collaborating with American resort wear brand Lilly Pulitzer on a limited-edition collection featuring 15 exclusive prints, which are original works of art.

Armonk, N.Y. – Retailers are suffering fewer cyber attacks, but for hackers it is becoming a situation of quality over quantity. According to findings released by IBM, despite a 50% decline in the number of cyber attacks against U.S. retailers, the number of records stolen from them remains at near record highs.

Atlanta -- The new year has brought news of a possible new data breach. Chick-fil-A acknowledged on Friday that it has received reports of potential “unusual activity” involving payment cards used at a few of its restaurants and that it was investigating whether a data breach had taken place.

“We take our obligation to protect customer information seriously, and we are working with leading IT security firms, law enforcement and our payment industry contacts to determine all of the facts,” the company said in a statement.  

The new year has brought new news of another data breach, this time involving fast food chicken giant Chick-fil-A.

Chick-fil-A Inc. confirmed it is investigating reports of potential unusual activity involving payment cards used at its restaurants. The Atlanta-based chicken chain said it received the initial report from its payment industry contacts late on Dec. 19.

Just six months after being named chairman and CEO of Target, Brian Cornell is pulling the plug on the retailer’s 133 unit Canadian operation and will incur a $5.4 billion pre-tax loss in the fourth quarter to do so.

Target said it plans to discontinue operating stores in Canada through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Target Canada Co. and that it had filed an application for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (the “CCAA”) with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto.

New York - Enabling shoppers to buy an item online and pick it up in a local store (BOPIS) is supposed to be a means of offering additional customer convenience. But according to a new study from business analytics firm StellaService, for BOPIS shoppers, 58% of their time in-store is spent at the checkout desk (3.1 minutes on average).    For context, the checkout process for in-store shoppers is more expedient, representing only 15% of their in-store time (1.1 minutes).  

The new year will bring more fraud than ever before, but also more tools to prevent it, according to three experts from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

The experts at ACFE were asked for their top fraud predictions for 2015. They weighed in on digital currencies, information security and other issues that will help shape the effort to prevent and detect fraud in the new year:

Technology will give fraudsters an edge in 2015, but it will also provide new tools for organizations and investigators, according to three experts from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) who were asked for their top fraud predictions for 2015. The experts weighed in on digital currencies, information security and other issues that will help shape the effort to prevent and detect fraud in the new year:  

A number of retailers saw changes at the top this past year. Here are the ones I found the most interesting:

Abercrombie & Fitch: The abrupt departure of longtime chief Michael Jeffries presents the former teen powerhouse with an opportunity to bring in a badly needed breath of fresh air.

In his day, no one could touch Jeffries, whose transformation of Abercrombie into a cool, exclusive club is a textbook example of brilliant, holistic retail branding. But Jeffries failed to keep up with the changing times. He seemed blind to the recession.