Retail

J.C. Penney is counting on a familiar blend of promotional tactics for the 2013 back-to-school season after a slate of merchandising initiatives and a free haircut offer ended horribly last year.

The department store retailer is touting the availability of some familiar brands and promotional pricing along with a new Joe Fresh Kids brand, expanded Levi’s assortments, free customization kits with the purchase of backpacks and shoes during August and dedicated landing pages at Jcp.com for key brands such as Arizona, Levi’s and Total Girl.

Tel Aviv, Israel – Preen.Me, a social platform for beauty consumers that offers access to personalized product recommendations, peer-to-peer recommendations, product reviews and how-to tutorials, is launching a database for select beauty brand partners.

The database will provide brands with aggregated consumer information such as actual product usage, and price sensitivity. Brand partners will also have direct access to Preen.Me users.

STOCKHOLM — With the U.S. housing market continuing to improve, it's no surprise that Electrolux CEO Keith McLoughlin expects the company's North American division to maintain the strong sales and earnings growth achieved in the second quarter throughout the rest of the year.

Because of the rising appliance consumption in North America, the company anticipates that demand for appliances in the U.S. will increase by 5-7% in 2013.

Toronto – Shoppers Drug Mart enjoyed a successful second quarter of fiscal 2013, reporting increases in net earnings, sales and same-store sales. Net earnings totaled up $141.8 million USD, up about 1% from $139.9 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Sales were about $2.45 billion, a 3.3% boost from the previous year. Same-store sales rose 2% during the quarter.

TORONTO — It is easy to see why Loblaw wanted to acquire Canada’s Shoppers Drug Mart following the release of second quarter results that highlight attractive growth prospects.

Canada’s Shoppers Drug Mart saw a boost in second-quarter sales and earnings, and according to president and CEO Domenic Pilla, the company is “well-positioned heading into the back half of the year.”

New York – U.S. consumers spent more last month as real home prices and initial unemployment claims continued to improve. The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index for June 2013, which comprises four components of tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices, increased to 4.3 from a reading of 4.2 the previous month.   
Following is a summary of the four main components of the Index:

Tax Burden: The tax rate is up from last year, and is now at 12%.

New York – Gilt.com is launching the Gilt Insider Program, a new free rewards program offering Gilt members the opportunity to earn points for free by interacting with the site. Activities such as making purchases, referring friends and visiting online sales earn members points they can redeem for benefits such as access to early sales, exclusive discounts, free shipping and invites to special events.

HUDSON, Ohio — Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores is turning 70, and to mark the special anniversary the specialty fabric and craft retailer is launching a “Share Your Story” sweepstakes on its Facebook page. 

Customers share their favorite Jo-Ann memories and each week, from July 28 through August 19, two random entrants will be chosen to win $100 Jo-Ann gift cards for a total of six winners. No purchase is necessary to enter or win.