Mass Merchant

Waban, Mass. – Publix, Aldi and H-E-B share something besides all operating in the grocery sector. Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, the three supermarket chains earned the highest scores in the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks 293 companies across 20 industries.

Joining those firms in the top 12 spots are retailers Chick-fil-A, PetSmart, Amazon.com, Trader Joe's, Papa John's, Walgreens, and Hannaford's.

Kmart and Best Buy are among the retailers that helped St. Jude’s Hospital raise more than $100 million for the second year in a row.

Kmart led all fundraising for St. Jude’s once again at $17.5 million, bringing its grand total to date to $76 million. Best Buy saw its campaign increase from nearly $1 million in 2013 to $9.7 million.

Target is trying to increase its appeal with Hispanic shoppers by launching a new marketing campaign focusing on customs that are unique to many Latino communities.

The campaign, called “Sin traduccion,” or “No translation,” will feature two television ads, as well as digital and in-store components.

According to Ad Age, the campaign is meant to be a celebration of moments, traditions and emotions that are treasured by many in the Hispanic culture and spark a larger conversation with the community.

For Los Angeles-based fashion retailer Forever 21, the journey from a single location on Figueroa Street in L.A. in 1984 to more than 680 global locations today has been transformative. Over the last three decades, the brand has not shied away from innovation and experimentation, implementing a range of different store sizes and concepts along the way: from smaller 5,000-sq.-ft. layouts in its early years, to larger 9,000-sq.-ft. concepts in the 2000s and a range of big-box stores that range up to 40,000 sq. ft.

On the heels of Samsung’s announcement that it would roll out Samsung Pay in the United States this summer, PayPal has announced it is buying mobile wallet technology startup Paydiant.

Paydiant technology powers payment apps for such retail brands as Subway and Harris Teeter supermarkets. But its most notable retail client is the merchant consortium MCX, which is developing an in-store payment app (widely viewed as an alternative to Apple Pay) called CurrentC. Walmart, Best Buy and Sears Holdings Corp. are part of MCX.

Green Bay, Wis. -- Shopko on Monday announced plans to open 20 new Shopko Hometown stores in late March. The company recently acquired the rights to occupy the 20 stores, with locations primarily in Texas, North Dakota, Kansas and Minnesota, which were previously operated by Alco Stores.

The conversion to the Hometown banner will include a mix of new interior and exterior signage, carpet, paint, updated and supplement fixtures and lighting, improved store design and layout, as well as an expanded merchandise mix.

Matthews, N.C. – Howard Levine, CEO of Family Dollar Stores Inc., intends to reduce his holdings of company stock for the second time in a month. In an SEC filing, Levine said he will sell up to two million shares of Family Dollar stock in an effort to diversify his portfolio.

In February 2015, Levine sold about 1.77 million shares of Family Dollar stock for $134.5 million. Family Dollar is in the process of being acquired by Dollar Tree Inc.

Costco has a new credit card partner for its stores, and it’s a brand name that shoppers may already be very familiar with.

The retailer has entered into a new co-brand credit card program agreement with Citi and an acceptance and co-brand incentive agreement with Visa.