Sales & Marketing

Duck Tape brand duct tape is joining forces with Fiskars Corp. to introduce a new line of scissors for crafting.

“Both Duck brand duct tape and Fiskars share a commitment to creating innovative products that help people express their creativity,” Fiskars VP brand marketing Jay Gillespie said. “This partnership is a perfect fit, and we’re looking forward to giving enthusiasts tools that make creating with Duck Tape easier than ever before.”

The scissors will be available at select retailers June 2014.

New York -- The 87th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will step-off at 77th Street and Central Park West on Thursday, Nov. 28 at 9 a.m. Started in 1924 with only about a dozen elements, the 2013 line-up of wonder features 15 giant character balloons; 37 large scale, novelty/ornament balloons, balloonicles, balloonheads and trycaloons; 30 floats; 1,600 cheerleaders and dancers; 900 clowns; 11 marching bands; and a host of celebrity performers.

New York — Faith Hope Consolo, chairman, and Joseph Aquino, executive VP of Douglas Elliman’s Retail Group have arranged a multi-level Soho flagship for Alice + Olivia By Stacey Bendet at 98 Greene Street between Spring and Prince Streets.

Shoppers continue to integrate digital devices into their lives and crave an equally integrated experience from retailers, but satisfying this heightened set of ominchannel expectation remains a work in progress for most retailers.

Few retailers have a well-defined omnichannel strategy with most professing to be in the development phase, according to a global consulting firm Hay Group. This rather worrisome insight was among the key findings in global consuling firm Hay Group’s 7th annual holiday hiring survey.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. — Dollar General on Monday named Todd Vasos as COO with responsibility for store operations, merchandising and supply chain. The company also said David D'Arezzo has joined the chain as executive VP and chief merchandising officer.

In August, women’s specialty apparel retailer Coldwater Creek, which operates 402 stores in 47 states, announced it had landed Deborah Cavanagh as its new chief marketing officer. She is charged with leading the multichannel brand’s marketing and creative services. One of Cavanagh’s first orders of business? To re-engage the Coldwater Creek core customer, as well as connect with new ones.

Dick’s Sporting Goods and ESPN have entered into a multi-year agreement which will allow Dick’s to be the exclusive e-commerce provider of licensed merchandise and sporting goods on ESPN.com and related digital properties.  

Dick’s and ESPN are no strangers. The sporting goods retailer sponsors ESPN's Champ Week coverage for college basketball, and collaborates on content such as Hell Week — an original documentary produced by Dick’s Sporting Goods Films in association with ESPN, which aired on ESPN2 and ESPNU earlier this year.

Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters optimize endless aisle with caching solution

Providing in-store customers with enhanced online “endless aisle” access to products can boost sales and customer service. But if the wait for endless aisle connectivity takes too long, its effectiveness is impacted.