Sales & Marketing

Minneapolis – Christopher Askew, president of Best Buy services, is reportedly leaving the company. According to the Wall Street Journal, Askew is leaving his post overseeing Best Buy’s Geek Squad technology services offering less than two years after he was hired from NCR Corp.

An internal company memo indicates CEO Hubert Joly will oversee the services organization on an interim basis. Best Buy confirmed the memo. The retailer has been expanding its showroom floor space as services sales have been declining.
 

Target Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell unveiled a wide-ranging growth strategy that combines familiar concepts with dozens of new initiatives related to merchandising, digital, expense control, process improvement and a major shift in corporate culture designed to drive growth for the next five years.

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.

Online shoppers want multiple search options, a variety of payment options, and when it comes to shipping and returns, “free” is a driving factor to complete the sale, according to a new survey.

The UPS Pulse of the Online Study conducted with comScore Inc. reports that U.S. online shoppers are open to new trends on social media and in-store technologies, and make more purchases on tablets than any other market.

By Hyaat Chaudhary, CEO, Carbon Media Group

At a time when the traditional separation between online and brick-and-mortar retailers is blurring, brands need to be smarter to win on the digital front. The ability to establish a presence online — and to capitalize on digital marketing and promotions driven by social media and other online tools — is no longer a luxury: it is a necessity.

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.

New York -- Retail and brand consultancy Fitch has appointed Hermann Behrens to the newly created role of CEO, North America, effective immediately. Behrens will lead the business out of Fitch’s newly established office in New York.

Behrens will be responsible for expanding Fitch’s reputation and client base in North America. He will work closely with the management teams at the company’s design studio in Columbus, Ohio and its architecture and engineering practices in Phoenix, Atlanta and Irvine.

Publix, Aldi and H-E-B now share something else besides operating in the grocery sector: They all do a stupendous job of serving their customers.

According to a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, the three supermarket chains earned the highest scores in the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings. The list 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.