Sales & Marketing

L.L. Bean has gone outside the company for the first time ever to pick a chief executive. The outdoors retailer named the chief merchandising and marketing officer of a Walmart-owned Chinese e-commerce business as president and CEO, effective Feburary 2016. [ABC News]

Saks Fifth Avenue’s holiday windows are an annual tradition in Manhattan, and the retailer keeps upping the ante.

Apps currently dominate the mobile payment space, but that may not be a permanent situation.

According to a new infographic from mobile engagement provider Mobiquity Inc., the industry is on its way to a ‘no-app’ payment landscape. Mobiquity predicts that operating systems, rather than applications, will define the future of mobile payments.

The infographic lists several data points suggesting consumers and retailers do not find mobile payment convenient. These include:

Saks Fifth Avenue’s holiday windows are an annual tradition in Manhattan, and the retailer keeps upping the ante.

Saks will unveil its windows on Nov. 23, and the display promise to light up the night. The retailer will transform its windows with a “Winter Place” theme, complete with a state-of-the-art light show featuring three-dimensional elements on the front facade of the iconic store, including towering light icicles, crystal palace spires, and snowy magnolia arches.

Retailers can use apps for more than just driving sales, as demonstrated by Office Depot Inc.’s latest mobile move.

The Office Depot and OfficeMax parent company is re-releasing its Elf Yourself mobile app. The app, which Office Depot has offered every holiday season since 2012 and launched as an online platform in 2006, is a prime example of how retailers are using apps to build positive consumer sentiment and brand awareness.

Lumber Liquidators has selected a banking executive to be its next CEO even as the company continues to struggle from the financial effects of a flooring scandal earlier this year.

The retailer has appointed board member and First Capital Bancorp veteran John Presley as CEO, replacing founder and acting CEO Thomas Sullivan. Sullivan will remain on the board as founder.

Retailers can use apps for more than just driving sales, as demonstrated by Office Depot Inc.’s latest mobile move.

The Office Depot and OfficeMax parent company is re-releasing its Elf Yourself mobile app. The app, which Office Depot has offered every holiday season since 2012 and launched as an online platform in 2006, is a prime example of how retailers are using apps to build positive consumer sentiment and brand awareness.

Target is taking steps to right-size its portfolio by closing 13 money-losing stores on Jan. 30, according to a report from the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal. The decision to close a Target store is not made lightly,” spokesperson Kristy Welker told the publication. “We typically decide to close a store after careful consideration of the long-term financial performance of a particular location.