Sales & Marketing

As HSN breaks ground on its fourth Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County home this month, HSNi Cares, the philanthropic arm of HSN's parent company HSN Inc, is set to launch a national campaign June 1 in support of Habitat for Humanity International.

Customers from these brands will have the opportunity to make a donation in support of the campaign when making purchases online and over the phone from June 1-30.

By Kris Bjorson and Lew Kornberg, Head of Retail Tenant Representation at Jones Lang LaSalle

New York – Macy’s Inc. is testing the effectiveness of mobile video ads on Facebook. On May 16, the retailer began running video ads using Facebook’s auto-play feature on the mobile newsfeed in its iPhone app.

The ads appear at the top of the newsfeed and start playing when the user scrolls down. If clicked, they become full-screen size and audio turns on. Users are allowed to like, share and/or comment on the ads.

Sprouts Farmers Market has appointed Nancy LaMons as chief human resources officer.

LaMons was most recently as chief people officer at the Fiesta Restaurant Group. Previously, LaMons held senior positions at J.C. Penney and PepsiCo. LaMons has a bachelor’s degree in finance, an MBA with an emphasis on human resources, labor and industrial relations, and an Ed.M. with an emphasis in organization and leadership development.

Houston – Stage Stores Inc. reported a net loss of $18.79 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, up from a net loss from $6.86 million in the same period a year earlier. Net sales slightly declined to $372.04 million from $372.1 million, while same-store sales decreased 0.2%.

Philadelphia – Urban Outfitters saw its net income decline 20% to $37.08 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, from $47.06 million in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year. This significant net income drop came despite a 6% jump in total net sales to $686.3 million, from $648.2 million.

Net income and sales totals both came in below Wall Street expectations. Total same-store sales remained flat. Higher marketing expenses, which helped boost net sales, contributed to the decline in net income.

Target continues to make leadership changes in the U.S. and Canada following Gregg Steinhafel’s ousting from the company in an effort to drive U.S. traffic and sales, improve its ailing Canadian operations and advance its ongoing digital transformation.

Framingham, Mass. – Staples Inc. attributed a 44% drop in net earnings during the first quarter of fiscal 2014 to lower sales caused by store closures and a rise in the value of the dollar. Net earnings of $96 million were 44% below net earnings of $170 million reported a year earlier.