Sales & Marketing

New York – Despite many forecasts of a gloomy holiday season for retailers, Deloitte is predicting an increase in consumer spending. Deloitte's 28th annual survey of holiday spending intentions and trends indicates shoppers surveyed plan to spend an average of $421 on holiday gifts this year, up from $386 last year. They also expect to buy an average of 12.9 gifts, ending a five-year decline in the number of gifts they plan to purchase.

RadioShack posted a net loss of $112 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2013, compared to a net loss of $47 million in the year-ago period. It was the retailer’s seventh straight quarter posting a net loss.

The company also named Paul Rutenis, formerly senior VP, general merchandising manager for the home division of J.C. Penney Company, as its new chief merchant.

Southport, Conn. -- ShopRoxx, a retail store specializing in the latest fun-and-fresh fashion trends for young women, has chosen eWay Direct’s Calibr email platform to deliver more high-value repeat customers and better overall ROI for 2014.

Dallas — SRS Real Estate Partners welcomes Jon Cowen as senior VP in the Phoenix office. Cowen bring 24 years of experience in commercial real estate to SRS, where he will focus on representing local and national retailers, shopping center leasing and development and investment sales.

Previously, Cowen worked with the Retail Advisory Group at Cushman & Wakefield after Cushman acquired his own real estate firm, Cowen Commercial.

New York -- Coach reported a decline in first-quarter profit amid declining North America sales. The company had net income of $217.88 million, down from $221.38 million in the previous year.
 
Net sales for the quarter fell 1% to $1.15 billion from $1.16 billion a year ago, below analysts' estimate of $1.19 billion.

I’d like to try something a bit different for this week’s column: a market-specific conversation! I’ve tapped Dave Cheatham from Phoenix-based Velocity Retail Group, an X Team International Partner, to help me examine the recent ups and downs of the local retail market in Arizona — and what the lessons learned here mean for brick and mortar retailers nationwide.

Mooresville, N.C. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Lowe's Companies, Inc. the highest honors for industry leadership in its SmartWay and WaterSense programs. On Oct. 22, Lowe's received the 2013 SmartWay Excellence Award for its environmental performance in the freight transportation industry. This month, the EPA also recognized Lowe's with a 2013 WaterSense Sustained Excellence award for its long-standing efforts to educate consumers about water-efficient products and practices.

Online retailer Rue La La will be leveraging Artisan Mobile’s Artisan Optimize platform to enhance its mobile technology.

"We are excited to be working with Artisan Optimize to directly impact the results of our mobile app," said Gerry McGoldrick, VP, Marketing, Rue La La. "Through their technology we are learning what drives conversions and, more importantly, we are able to make changes quickly and easily to keep consumers engaged."