Sales & Marketing

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in July 2013 versus July 2014 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains. The start of the back-to-school season saw large decreases in these metrics for both Staples and Walmart across the board. Walmart continued its trend of smaller, less dense, highly-targeted and themed circulars. It barely touched on BTS on the front pages of its July 2013 circulars, with only a small laptop ad and some apparel promotions. 2014 saw a more concentrated effort as early as 7/13, prominently featuring notebooks, glue sticks, and crayons.

Chain Store Age is excited to announce a partnership with Sunnyvale, California-based business accelerator Plug and Play. Plug and Play’s Retail Accelerator has joined forces with leading brands and retailers in order to foster the growth of retail-focused startups during a 12-week startup program in Silicon Valley. A round table of corporations, venture capitalists and industry experts guide the direction of the program.

Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, has appointed John Lewis as global president and Karen Fichuk as president, North America. Both executive leaders are based in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Toronto -- According to the Staples' Annual Back-to-School study evaluating the back-to-school shopping habits of Canadian customers, value is the top priority; 81% of Canadians say they look for a retailer that offers good value.

Highlights from the annual survey include:

• 81% of back-to-school shoppers look for a retailer that offers good value;

• Nearly three quarters (74%) of Canadian back-to-school shoppers prepare their own lists;

• Almost as many (71%) make their own budget;

The Quest for Texas Best competition is a project of H-E-B Primo Picks, a two-year old statewide program that aims to find the best food and beverage products that Texas has to offer.

Judges whittled nearly 600 submissions from across the Lone Star State to 25 finalists. Submissions came from 128 towns across the state, yielding a mix of jams, jellies, spices and meats. Entries spanned 74 categories including beer, butter, cookies and milk, muffins, Mexican pastries, pickles, sauces and teas.

Philadelphia -- Urban Outfitters Inc. reported that profit for the second quarter dipped to $67.5 million, compared with $76.4 million last year.

Revenue rose to a record $811 million from $758.5 million, solidly beating analysts’ projections of $805 million in sales. Same-store sales increased 21% at Free People and 6% at the Anthropologie Group, and decreased 10% at Urban Outfitters. 

Urban Outfitters operates under the Anthropologie, Bhldn, Free People, Terrain and Urban Outfitters banners.
 

I’m excited to announce a new partnership Chain Store Age is launching with Plug and Play Tech Center, an innovative Silicon Valley tech startup investor whose mission is to connect promising tech startups with retail corporations in an attempt to help retailers transition into the technological age. From time to time, you will be seeing Plug and Play-related content on our site and in our magazine.

New York -- Fred Segal will open The Fred Segal Collective, a multi-store retail experience, at SLS Las Vegas as part of the hotel’s opening on Aug. 23. In an unusual move, the brand will occupy all of the retail space in the resort.

The Collective will be integrated throughout the entire SLS experience, creating shopping opportunities from the pool to the casino and dining areas. It will encompass nearly 10,000 sq. ft., with seven individual stores, including She, He, Jeans, Shoes, Jewels, Play and Goods.