Sales & Marketing

Private equity firm Bain Capital concluded 2013 with the acquisition of Bob’s Discount Furniture, an operator of 47 stores in the Northeast that is intent on expansion.

Bain acquired a majority ownership position in the Manchester, Conn.-based company and said senior management will continue to own a significant stake. Current CEO Ted English will continue to lead the company whose first order of business for 2014 is entry into the Philadelphia market.

By Rich Thompson, managing director of supply chain & logistics solutions for the Americas at Jones Lang LaSalle

New research from NPD conducted during the 2013 holiday season suggests shoppers believe better deals are to be had online than in stores.

That not good news for retailers under relentless pressure to generate store traffic with all manner of urgency oriented promotions such as the ubiquitous one-day sale or other types of limited duration activities.

Altoona, Pa. — David Woodley, VP of sales and marketing for convenience store chain Sheetz, has moved into the executive VP spot vacated by Louie Sheetz.

CINCINNATI — Leaving the iconic Times Square clean and sparkling is a huge job, but somebody's got to do it. A 25-person "Mr. Clean Team" worked alongside the New York City Department of Sanitation and the Times Square Alliance on Jan. 1 to give the area a thorough scrub down following the massive New Year's celebration and they had some help thanks to one of Procter & Gamble's newest products. 

Plano, Texas -- Pizza Hut will offer 50% off any medium or large pizza ordered online from Jan. 1-10. The online promotion marks the 20th anniversary of Pizza Hut offering online ordering via its “PizzaNet” digital ordering hub.

Participants will also join the brand's "Hut Lovers" program, which provides members with other exclusive deals. Pizza Hut is launching a YouTube ad featuring 1990s pop artists Ace of Base as part of the promotion.

OnlyLeggings.com is borrowing a page from the playbook of Costco and Amazon to create a membership-based program to appeal to those who regularly purchase leg wear.

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples is changing its logo by removing the bent staple that forms the “L” in “Staples.” Initially, Staples is excluding the bent staple in its logo in a number of places, including its e-commerce site and the company's social channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and the easyBlog.