Sales & Marketing

Sam’s Club is taking a different approach to Valentine’s Day promotions by offering customers the gift of good health.

According to a national survey, Americans plan to spend around $142 on Valentine’s Day this year for jewelry, candy and a special night out. What if, in addition to these, people could also give the gift of health to their loved ones this year without breaking the bank even more? Sam’s Club is making it possible this Valentine’s Day by offering free heart health screenings.

Lakeland, Fla. -- Retail Solutions Advisors said that it has been selected as the exclusive leasing representative for Towne Square, a 126,374-sq.-ft. community shopping center located in Ocoee, Florida. Towne Square is anchored by Old Time Pottery.

The property is owned by Continental Real Estate Companies, who will continue to manage the center.
 

Pier 1 Imports Inc. has retracted its profit guidance for the fourth quarter and replaced its chief financial officer after what the company's CEO said was a miscalculated financial forecast.

CEO Alex W. Smith said the retailer’s same store sales growth in January was 5.7%, well below a forecast that "overestimated the recapture of lost sales from last year’s storms.”

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners has named Kevin Boyd as senior VP and co-market leader in the Chicago office. Experienced with local, regional, and national retailers, he will focus on tenant representation while jointly leading the Chicago team.

Best Buy is finally joining the growing online gift registry market by offering wedding registry services.   More than 1.5 million couples register for wedding gifts each year. Options for these couples soon will improve with the Feb. 16 launch of the Best Buy Wedding Registry, enabling couples everywhere to register for their most-wanted tech essentials:  from wireless speakers to cameras and from Ultra HD TVs to ever-popular kitchen gadgets.  

Oklahoma City -- Sonic Drive-In announced two new agreements for franchise development in Rhode Island, the 45th state for the expanding brand. A mainstay in the South and Central Plains, the chain is aggressively expanding in the Northeast.

The first new Sonic franchisee for Rhode Island will bring the state its first location in the Providence, Rhode Island, market in mid-2015, with plans for more down the line.

Port Washington, N.Y. - Consumers spent more than $47 billion on small appliances, non-electric housewares products, and home fashions in 2014. According to The NPD Group, this was a nearly $500 million, or 1%, increase from 2013 home-product sales,

NPD Group data also shows this continued the growth trajectory resumed in 2013, when the industry grew by 4%. Sales of small kitchen appliances, bed, and bath home fashions products buoyed the industry in 2014, while most non-electric housewares continued to struggle.

Denver – Smartphone use continues to rise, with 71% of all consumers and 85% of Millennials owning a smartphone. However, Placeable recently surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers and found that 42% have never purchased anything on their mobile phones, and more than nine out of 10 consumers don’t use mobile payments when they’re available.