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LAS VEGAS — Kodak will debut its latest products, including two new cameras, at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, despite rumors that the company will be seeking bankruptcy protection.

As retailers assess what worked and what didn’t in terms of Black Friday promotions and Thanksgiving weekend sales, overall there are a few things that stand out.

As retailers assess what worked and what didn’t in terms of Black Friday promotions and Thanksgiving weekend sales, overall there are a few things that stand out.

Chicago -- Despite all of the hype surrounding mobile commerce, just 36% of chief marketing officers at retail companies have included mobile in their holiday marketing strategies this year, according to a recent BDO USA survey. And of the CMOs incorporating mobile, 84% say it accounts for less than 10% of their holiday marketing efforts. The findings are from the most recent edition of the BDO Retail Compass Survey of CMOs, which examined the opinions of 100 chief marketing officers at leading retailers located throughout the country.

New York -- The retail industry experienced a weekend that was a roaring success in terms of customer traffic, sales and another key metric that was overlooked: No one died! At least not in the gruesome fashion of a few years ago when a Walmart employee was trampled by an unruly mob as he opened the doors at a Long Island, NY, store on Black Friday. There was an incident this year involving an older man who collapsed at a Target store in West Virginia and later died at a hospital, but it was determined he had a pre-existing heart condition.

By Shaun Ryan, CEO, SLI Systems and Mike Hill, executive VP, Guidance Solutions

As Hurricane Irene raged up the East Coast over the weekend of Aug. 26-28, Apple -- like many retailers strategically positioned in the storm’s path -- turned out the lights on its New York-area stores, including all three Manhattan locations, New Jersey and Connecticut, to shield itself from Irene’s wrath.

But on the same day it temporarily shuttered its East Coast stores, Apple officially opened locations in North Carolina, Arkansas and, yes, France.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings continues its efforts to reach more Hispanic consumers with the announcement that its Kmart brand has launched a Spanish-language miniseries on YouTube.

The complexities of running a retail business combined with low margins prevalent in the mass market leave little room for error when it comes to achieving operating profitability. For any retailer to produce a profit is quite an accomplishment, and in the case of Walmart it is even more impressive when factoring in some of the extracurricular activities that go on in its stores.

By Mark Sambrooke, [email protected]