Sales & Marketing

Despite continued adverse weather conditions throughout February and into March, Kirkland's president and CEO Robert Alderson said that early first-quarter sales and margin trends have been positive and encouraging.

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. said Thursday that it will buy back up to $1 billion of its shares. The repurchase program replaces its existing plan, which had roughly $2 million remaining.

Kroger also declared a regular quarterly dividend of 16.5 cents per share, payable June 1 to shareholders of record May 15.
During the last four quarters, Kroger has used its strong free cash flow to return more than $928 million to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends.  

Tampa, Fla. — RMC Property Group has earned two exclusive leasing assignments on Florida’s southern West Coast.

First is Fountain Court, a 180,420-sq.-ft. community shopping center in Bradenton’s Highway 64 retail corridor near the beaches and Anna Maria Island. Anchor tenants include Bealls Department Store and Planet Fitness.

eBay is making updates to its seller performance standards and returns policy designed to promote and safeguard top-level sellers and also ease returns.

Seattle -- Starbucks has announced upcoming enhancements to its mobile app for iPhone, which will allow customers to provide Starbucks employees with a tip directly from the Starbucks App for iPhone. Beginning March 19, customers using Starbucks App for iPhone in the U.S., U.K., and Canada will experience a streamlined design and access to their account and My Starbucks Rewards information.

Express has enlisted swimsuit model Kate Upton as its brand ambassador, making her the first celebrity spokesperson to be a part of the brand's ad campaigns in the last decade.

To kick off the partnership, Upton will host the Express Spring-Summer 2014 Runway Show at the Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach, Fla., Thursday, March 13. The retailer will then debut Upton in advertising campaigns beginning fall 2014.

Thorofare, N.J. -- The ECR Shrinkage Group, an expert group focused on shrink, with the support of merchandise availability solutions supplier for the retail industry Checkpoint Systems, is launching an online benchmarking tool, which enables retailers to understand how well they are managing shrink compared to others and the relative strengths and opportunities of their loss-prevention program. The tool provides global benchmarks on the strategic, organizational and operational standards that underpin an effective shrink management strategy.

National Retail Federation SVP David French told the House Judiciary Committee in a letter this week that legislation is needed to level the playing field between local retailers and out-of-state competitors, as the NRF continues to push Congress to pass legislation that would require online and remote sellers to collect state and local sales taxes.