Retail

Vertical footwear retailer Keds is launching an omnichannel marketing campaign called the “Keds Brave Life Project.” The campaign is aimed at encouraging positive development of girls and young women.

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Dress for Less will open four new locations in the greater Chicago area on March 8, 2014. These openings bring the total number of Chicago area stores to 35 for the retailer.

Engaged Capital, an investment firm specializing in small and mid-cap North American equities and stockholder of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., has named five nominees for the Abercrombie & Fitch board of directors.

The nominees are Alexander P. Brick, former CEO of Specialty Retail Group; Robert D. Huth, former CEO of David’s Bridal; Michael W. Kramer, former COO of J.C. Penney; Diane L. Neal, former CEO of Bath & Body Works; and Glenn W. Welling, CIO and managing member of Engaged Capital.

Pleasanton, Calif. – Safeway Inc. is exploring a sale of the company as it reports substantial increases in net income due to its exit from the Canadian market, and smaller increases in net sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014. Although the discussions for a sale are ongoing, the company said it has not reached an agreement on a transaction, and there can be no assurance that these discussions will lead to an agreement or a completed transaction.  

Cambridge, Mass. - StopLift Checkout Vision Systems is introducing the Self-Checkout Accelerator, which is designed to immediately flag unscanned merchandise at the checkout and alert the attendant before the customer leaves the checkout, improve customer service at the self-checkout, and prevent false alerts and interventions.  

Never one to let an opportunity to bash Walmart go to waste, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) associate director Robin Williams did just then when she was named to the NAACP board.

Williams, a 17-year UFCW veteran, was named to the 62-member board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Feb. 13. Williams leads UFCW’s civil rights and community action department and said it was an honor to join the board of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization.

San Jose, Calif. – Sales for Valentine’s Day this year fell prior to the holiday compared to the same period in 2013, but rose on the actual holiday itself, Feb. 14. According to new figures from site analytics provider RetailNext, men’s stores (that have gifts for men) saw decreased (-13.8%) sales the day before Valentine’s, but an increase of +22.2% in sales on Valentine's Day itself in 2014.

Kirkland's SVP of logistics Todd Weier plans to leave the company. The company has begun a search for a new logistics leader.