Sales & Marketing

Vizstar, an aggregator of companies and products in the organic cosmetic, wellness and skincare space, plans to expand its USDA-certified organics line to more than 100 products.

Vizstar CEO Kimberly Parry will launch Little Prana (mommy/baby line) to the mass markets in November. All products are certified organic. The company reports a strong demand for the product line following the Cosmoprof show in Bologna, Italy.

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods opens five new stores across the U.S. on Nov. 8. The stores will be located in Dover, Del., Palm Desert, Calif., West Des Moines, Iowa, Sioux Falls, S.D., and Findlay, Ohio.

Dick’s will operate a total of 554 stores in the U.S. upon opening the five new stores. The Sioux Falls store will be the chain’s first store in South Dakota. This total will include three in Delaware, 32 in California, five in Iowa, and 38 in Ohio.

Hudson’s Bay Company has appointed Michael Crotty as EVP, chief marketing officer, Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor and Russ Hardin as SVP, chief creative officer, Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor.

Both Crotty and Hardin will report to Liz Rodbell, incoming president, HBC Department Store Group, effective Nov. 11.

Davenport, Iowa -- Von Maur Department Stores has opened its first location in the Northeast. The Midwest retailer opened a 140,000-sq.-ft. store at Eastview Mall in Victor, N.Y., which is just outside of Rochester.

Regional department store retailer Von Maur isn’t so regional anymore following the opening of its first store in New York.

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Home furnishings retailer West Elm announced that it will open a store in Mill Valley, Calif., on Nov. 7. West Elm is owned by Williams-Sonoma.

Located in The Strawberry Village shopping center, the 10,000-sq.-ft. store will open with the brand’s diverse mix of furniture, home décor, gifts and artist collaborations. The store will also feature an assortment of local, handcrafted products sourced through Etsy.com that include jewelry, wall art, kitchen linens, coasters and candles.

For many retailers, Halloween has become one of their favorite times of year. Spending on Halloween-related costumes, decorations, candy, etc. has grown to the point it represents the second-highest consumer spending holiday, only trailing Christmas with NRF estimates of this year’s spending total reaching $6.9 billion. But while a good scare is all part of the annual Halloween fun, retailers need to ensure their omni-channel customers do not get scared away by frighteningly poor digital commerce features and functions.

ChannelNet, a customer acquisition, retention and conquest digital services provider, has appointed Molly Smith as VP of customer support and services.