Sales & Marketing

San Francisco -- Search ad spend increased 25% year-over-year and 2% quarter-over-quarter, according to Kenshoo, a leader in predictive media optimization technology.

Among the key findings in the research:

• Search click-through rate increased 26%, driving a 15% increase in clicks year-over-year;

• Social ad spend increased 51% year-over-year and 21% quarter-over-quarter; and

• Social impressions increased 13% year-over-year.

San Francisco – Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids opened stores Tuesday, July 15 at Central Square, Bonifacio High Street, a premier retail destination in Manila, Philippines. As part of parent company William-Sonoma Inc.’s strategic global expansion, these stores are the first Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids locations in Southeast Asia.

Chicago — Capri Capital Partners has formed Capri Retail Advisors, an affiliate that will focus on retail opportunities in underserved and evolving retail trade areas in strategically selected major U.S. metropolitan markets.

Ross Glickman, former chairman and CEO of Urban Retail Properties, has been named president and CEO of the new affiliate. Ken Lombard, former president of the Starbucks in-store entertainment division and also former president of Magic Johnson’s urban retail real estate development company, is chairman and chief investment officer.

Profitero, a leading global provider of online insights and e-commerce intelligence for retailers and brands, has appointed Keith Anderson as VP, strategy and insights, as part of its strategy to further expand into North America.

In this newly created role, Anderson will lead the continuous innovation of Profitero's online solutions, helping retailers and brands gain a deeper understanding of their online presence to optimize their online and in-store sales.

Flowood, Miss. — Inland Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. has purchased the 187,610-square-foot Dogwood Festival Shopping Center located in Flowood, Mississippi, approximately 10 miles northeast of Jackson, Mississippi.

Constructed in 2002, the center is 97.8% leased to 36 tenants, including T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, Old Navy, Gap, Men’s Wearhouse, Hibbett Sports and several other national tenants. The property is shadow-anchored by Belk, an upscale department store, which was not acquired.

Scholastic is unveiling a new multi-platform series, TombQuest, which includes five books by Michael Northrop and an online game.

TombQuest is aimed at eight- to 12-year-olds and is an addition to Scholastic’s three previous multi-platform series, which have published some 22 million copies since the first launched in 2008, and the accompanying websites have 3 million registered users.

New York -- At first glance, the IBM-Apple partnership may seem to do little more than formalize a connection between two technologies that are mainstays of most retailers’ infrastructures. The fact is many retailers already use Apple iPhones and iPads as devices for in-store activities like product lookup, checkout and inventory management. And IBM is a leading provider of retail data analytics technology.
 

By Anders Ekman, DataMentors