Sales & Marketing

Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) have become more common on companies’ senior leadership teams. They might be in even higher demand after the highly publicized data breaches at Target, Home Depot, Neiman Marcus and other companies in the past couple of years (see a timeline of data breaches in the past decade here). In fact, Neiman Marcus just hired its first CISO, Sarah Hendrickson.

Purchase, N.Y. – A decline in the price of gasoline may be leading to a larger haul for many many people on Christmas morning. According to the latest MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, total retail sales without the automotive and gasoline sectors were up 3.6% in November 2014, reinforcing the dramatic decline in gasoline prices.  

Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock cited the recovering U.S. economy as among the reasons why the company plans to focus more on market differentiation and omnichannel retailing.

The company said it will outline these and other strategic priorities in a meeting with investors on Dec. 11 in North Carolina.

In the final installment of CSA Online’s PizzaRev series, we’ll explore the importance of choosing franchisees with a particularly discerning eye, and the process by which franchisors evaluate potential expansion markets.    FRANCHISEE FACTORS   

Austin, Texas - Business software solution provider Epicor Software Corp. has agreed to acquire Atlanta-based ShopVisible LLC, a provider of cloud retail order management and digital commerce solutions. The acquisition of ShopVisible, expected to close by the end of the year, will expand Epicor’s position as a provider of extended omni-channel solutions for midsize and large retail chains.   

New York - Back in the fall, reports were rampant that Amazon would open a physical store in mid-town Manhattan in time for the holiday rush. The online giant had rented space across from the Empire State Building,  according to reports, with plans to open a space that would double as a store and mini-depot where select orders could be picked up and returned.  But with the holiday season in full-swing, there is no Amazon storefront on West 34th Street—and it doesn’t appear any is likely in the near future.  

The paint competition will heat up in March as Lowe’s rolls out HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams.

The HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams product line will feature what both companies describe as “a new and improved interior and exterior paint program.” The line will be available at both Sherwin-Williams' company stores and Lowe's stores nationwide, as well as exclusive line extensions available at Lowe's.

New York - Fifty-one percent of consumers say saving money is their top priority this holiday season, and  40% are driven by finding the right product. Those are among the findings of a recent survey conducted by RSR.