Sales & Marketing

The Bear Creek Country Kitchens brand is now part of the B&G Foods portfolio of brands following B&G’s acquisition of the dry soup line and other brands from Specialty Brands of America.

The Bear Creek brand of hearty dry soups is the largest brand in the Specialty Brands of America portfolio which also includes Spring Tree, Cary’s and MacDonald’s brand pure maple syrups, New York Flatbreads and Canoleo margarine.

Washington, D.C. -- Retail employment increased 18,200 in March and 229,000 year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation. The increase is consistent with recent positive economic indicator reports and bodes well for income and consumer confidence as the industry enters into the busy spring selling season.

Former Office Depot executive Monica Luechtefeld has joined the board of e-commerce solutions provider PFSweb.

Luechetfeld spent 20 years at Office Depot serving in a variety of leadership roles in the areas of e-commerce, supply chain, information technology, marketing and business development. She left Office Depot in 2012 after holding senior roles such as EVP of European e-commerce, EVP of e-commerce and digital marketing and founded her own consulting firm. Luechetfeld was also a founding member of the National Retail Federation’s Shop.org organization.

Holmdel, N.J. — Levin Management has been named the exclusive leasing agent for Holmdel Crossing, a planned 140,000-sq.-ft. retail development in Holmdel, N.J.

According to Levin, pre-leasing efforts will focus on identifying anchor or junior anchor tenants that will drive the remaining retail tenancy,

Cologne, Germany -- EVO Payments International, a card payment acquirer and payment service provider operating in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, is releasing a new graphical user interface called Clever Pay GUI in Europe. EVO designed this new interface to make payment acceptance for online businesses easier and faster.

Washington, D.C. -- The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS), a division of the National Retail Federation, is releasing its Change4Charity Standard. If adopted by point-of-sale vendors and donation processors, the standard will lower costs for retailers and support greater participation in charity programs by smaller retailers and non-profits.

Bentonville, Ark. – The Sam’s Club Giving Program is providing a $2.5 million grant to grow U.S. women-owned businesses and jumpstart job creation. Awarded to three non-profit organizations, the grant creates the WE Lend Initiative, a two-year investment in strengthening SBA-recognized Women’s Business Centers (WBCs).

Aliso Viejo, Calif. – Johnny Rockets has opened its second restaurant in Galerias Merida, Mexico. The 1,798-sq.-ft. location is situated in an upscale two-story shopping mall.

Galerias Merida is the fourth Johnny Rockets location for Johnny Rockets Guadalajara Group, who also operate three franchises in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Two additional Johnny Rockets locations are scheduled to open in Mexico later this year, one in Chihuahua and another in Mexico City.