Retail

Minneapolis -- APG Cash Drawer LLC is releasing the BluePro Bluetooth interface for cash drawers. Now available for purchase through APG's distribution partners, the BluePro Bluetooth interface will enable cash drawer control via Bluetooth communication and allows retailers to wirelessly synchronize and create a one to one relationship between the cash drawer and tablet.      

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.

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) is publicly crediting the Obama administration for its response to “patent trolls,” or companies that purchase patents for the sole purpose of launching infringement suits against other companies. The administration has implemented a series of executive actions designed to have the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office promote transparency, clarity and fairness in the patent process.

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.

Lexington, Mass. – Vertical footwear retailer Keds is launching an omni-channel marketing campaign called the “Keds Brave Life Project.” The campaign is aimed at encouraging positive development of girls and young women.

San Francisco – Gap Inc. will raise the minimum hourly wage for all U.S. employees to $9 in 2014, and then raise it again, to $10, in 2015. The move will affect about 65,000 store employees across the company’s brands, which include Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, Athleta, and Intermix. Gap's announcement comes amid a nationwide debate about the minimum wage.

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.

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.