Sales & Marketing

By David Ashen, dash design

Lately you can't turn on the television or pick up the newspaper without seeing a story about Millennials, also known as Generation Y. People are endlessly fascinated by their traits, values, work habits and shopping patterns. Why all of this focus on the group of people born between the early 1980's and 2000's?

Regional food retailer Grocery Outlet has swapped one private equity owner for another as it looks to drive growth beyond its existing 210 store footprint in six Western states.

The company, which bills itself as an “extreme value” grocer, said it entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Hellman & Friedman LLC along with Grocery Outlet’s senior management team from its principal owner, Berkshire Partners LLC. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
 

West Sacramento, Calif. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Partnership announced that Raley’s Family of Fine Stores received a GreenChill 2013 Achievement Award for extraordinary leadership and initiative in achieving the Partnership’s mission to better protect the Earth’s ozone layer and reduce the impact on climate change through innovative refrigeration systems.

Fort Worth, Texas -- Pier I on Wednesday reported income and sales that missed Wall Street forecasts. The retailer also detailed its online growth and omnichannel investments.
 
Pier I posted net income of $9.2 million for the second quarter ended August 30, 2014, down $17.8 million from the year ago period, amid continued investments in omnichannel growth and increased fulfillment costs.

Atlanta -- Assurant Solutions and Nebraska Furniture Mart celebrated the 10th anniversary of their relationship by signing a multi-year contract extension recently, covering underwriting and administration of extended service contracts on appliances and electronics.

The opportunity to be discovered and appear in a national TV ad later this year are being used to entice Kohl’s shoppers to submit videos singing the hit song “Let it Go” from the Disney movie Frozen.

Kohl’s and Disney created the digital campaign called Sing Your Heart Out and are giving fans of the movie Frozen until September 29 to submit videos of themselves singing the song Let it Go for a chance to be included in a Kohls holiday commercial that will air during the 2014 American Music Awards.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Department Stores anticipates hiring more than 67,000 associates nationwide this holiday season to support in-store and online holiday business.

Kohl’s plans on hiring an average of 50 associates per store at its 1,163 stores in 49 states. In addition, the company anticipates hiring approximately 9,300 seasonal positions at distribution centers across the country and approximately 670 seasonal credit operations positions.


 

Overstock's Android app — which includes Google Wallet checkout, allowing shoppers to check out quickly with the press of a button, and alerts shoppers to daily flash sales — has earned the top ranking in the Google Play Store's Editors' Choice.