Sales & Marketing

Tampa, Fla. – The Melting Pot Restaurants Inc. has opened its first restaurant outside of North America in Jakarta, Indonesia. The latest opening comes on the heels of the company announcing its plans for continued international expansion.

The Melting Pot is on track to open its first restaurants in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia later in 2015, as well as its fourth location in Mexico City, Mexico.

Sears and Craftsman have kicked off their second annual “MAKEcation” promotion with a sweepstakes that sends the winner to an event this fall in Brooklyn. 

From now through July 31, Craftsman Club and Shop Your Way members can enter for a chance to win a trip to this experience by visiting www.craftsman.com/makecation.

Vancouver, Wash. – Pizza retailer Papa Murphy's Holdings Inc. plans to strengthen and grow its presence in the Southeast.

The company, which currently has more than 1,400 locations in 38 states, recently completed acquisitions of existing Papa Murphy's franchise stores in Jacksonville, Forida, as a springboard for further expansion throughout the Southeast.

The resurgence of the housing market has Lowe’s feeling optimistic, to the tune of $5 billion.

The company’s board of directors announced that it has authorized a new repurchase program of $5 billion of the company's common stock. This new repurchase program has no expiration date and adds to the previous program's balance, which was $2.4 billion as of Jan. 30.

Seattle – Outdoor retail co-op REI is being very “cooperative” in returning $168 million to its members. In 2014, 945,000 new members joined the co-op, taking active membership to a high of 5.5 million.

For the year, REI reported record annual revenues of $2.2 billion, a 10% increase from 2013. When the co-op performs well, active members receive an annual 10% dividend, based on their eligible annual purchases.

New York -- High-end home appliances and outfitting retailer Pirch will open its first store in the Northeast, at Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, on March 28.  

The 20,000-sq.-ft. store, the company’s eighth to date, allows shoppers to "test-drive" a carefully-curated collection of premier kitchen, bath, laundry, and outdoor living brands in a highly interactive and sensory environment.

Outdoor retailer REI reached new heights in 2014 thanks to unprecedented membership growth which fueled a 4.2% same store sales increase and a record financial performance.

The same store sales increased and addition of seven new stores helped the company increase total sales 9.9% to $2.2 billion. The company ended the year with 5.5 million active members, 945,000 of whom joined the retail cooperative in 2014.

Alpharetta, Ga. - McAlister's Deli is targeting Phoenix for franchise growth. The fast-casual dining chain is seeking experienced multi-unit restaurant operators to help expand McAlister's presence in the market through multi-unit development agreements in areas such as Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale and Goodyear.