Sales & Marketing

Gene Operle, Regional Sales Manager for Hallandale Beach, Fla.-based Loco Brands, participated in ECRM’s recent Snack & Dry Grocery Event in Jacksonville, Fla.

JCPenney Co. Inc. is expanding its in-store partnership with Sephora by adding the beauty retailer to more stores.

Jacksonville, Fla. - Bi-Lo Holdings, parent company of Bi-Lo, Harveys and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, is launching a new smartphone app and improved website for each banner that now delivers personalized digital coupons based on each customer’s shopping habits. Bi-Lo is partnering with digital coupon provider Coupons.com to deliver the personalized coupons.

Additional features of the new mobile app and enhanced website include:

Gaining market share and geographic coverage are top priorities driving deals

Retail continues to rally for deals in 2015, and the sector could be on the cusp of another major year for mergers and acquisitions. Already this year, we’ve seen speculation about a number of potentially massive deals — from a possible buyout of Rite Aid by Walgreens Boots Alliance to the proposed merger between Staples and Office Depot. Looking across the industry, as part of BDO’s annual Retail Compass Survey of CFOs, we asked chief financial officers at leading U.S.

By Mihir Kittur, co-founder and chief innovation officer, Ugam

2015 is seeing enormous growth in the number of product SKUs listed online, and e-commerce and content managers will be tasked with the rapid onboarding of those SKUs. However, adding SKUs alone won’t be enough; they also need to have the right assortment and the right price and deliver a better shopper experience.

Vernon, Calif. -- True Religion Apparel Inc. has opened its first global flagship, at 513 Broadway in downtown Manhattan. The 3,000-sq.-ft. space is the brand’s largest and most digitally-savvy store to date, starting with storefront windows that display a continuous stream of video content. The windows are also able to showcase style statements from shoppers themselves.

Inside the store, digital kiosks and iPads provide product-on-demand by offering the entire True Religion collection through an endless digital aisle.

The Kroger Co. is continuing to invest in its footprint in 2015, this time with plans to build 11 new stores and remodel 22 existing stores in the Indianapolis area, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Industry insiders are the best trend-watchers. Here’s what the experts are seeing.

“There is more selectivity in the site selection process. There is a trend toward downsizing, and more non-retail tenants are taking interest. There is also a growing divide between A-plus real estate and everything else in the market. Everyone wants the best properties.” — Mark Dufton, CEO of DJM Real Estate, a Gordon Brothers Group company

“Retailers are thinking about a smaller footprint, but in most cases not significantly smaller.