Retail

Hordes of spend-happy young Mexican shoppers are successfully attracting specialty apparel retailers from the U.S. and Europe – and, as mentioned in a recent report by Wall Street Journal, Walmart is feeling the pain.

Washington, D.C. -- Import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 1.1% in June over the same month last year, reflecting modest growth expectations as retailers head toward the back-to-school and holiday seasons, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.



 St. Augustine, Fla. – Barbecue product retailer Heaton Enterprises has reopened its online barbecue store Barbqrub.com. Although never officially closed, the site has added new products including and rubs and marinades as well as grills and grilling tools and will also soon expand its blog to offer best practices, product reviews and recipes.

New York – Brooks Brothers is connecting data to the customer experience in order to replicate the highly personalized shopping environment of its stores on its e-commerce site.

“We are connectors,” Cindy L. Hicks, director of analytics for Brooks Brothers, told the audience during a session at last week’s Internet Retailer conference in Chicago. “Our job is to connect data to the customer experience with a software package.”

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Lululemon reported results for the first quarter ended May 5, but the news of the day was CEO Christine Day's resignation after five and a half years.

Day will officially step down once the board names a successor. The board has formed a search committee and enacted its CEO succession plan.

Naperville, Ill. – OfficeMax shareholders will vote on a proposed merger with Office Depot on July 10, in a special meeting to be in Naperville, Ill. Shareholders of record as of May 28, 2013 are eligible to participate.

Shareholders will vote on a merger initially announced by OfficeMax and Office Depot on February 20, 2013. The merger process is ongoing and the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of this year subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

Lowe’s is leveraging the popularity of Disney animated films "Monsters University" and "Toy Story" for its nationwide movie-themed Build and Grow clinics for kids.

The special hour-long clinics, recommended for children in grades two through five, will take place on select Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. throughout the summer and are free, the company announced.

SALT LAKE CITY — Overstock.com has promoted Brian Popelka to the position of SVP of customer and partner care. Formerly VP of customer care, Popelka will establish and maintain relationships with the company's drop-ship fulfillment partners, in addition to his previous duties.

Under his direction, the customer care department has repeatedly ranked in the top four of the former NRF Foundation/American Express Customer Choice Awards and earned the Gartner Gold Award and the 2011 Stevie Award for customer care.