Sales & Marketing

New Balance is joining forces with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service to provide wounded service members with free athletic shoes through the Wounded Care program.

Since 2007, the Exchange and New Balance have provided complimentary footwear to service members who have been injured in action. More than 400 free pairs have been provided to Wounded Warriors this year alone.

To remain in the same e-commerce class as its peers, Pennsauken, N.J.-based Becker’s School Supplies, Inc. redeveloped and relaunched its online retail site on the WebLinc e-commerce platform.

“We needed a significant upgrade of our Web presence,” explained Robert Bonczkiewicz, catalog manager at Becker’s. “Competitors in our space are top-notch and we needed to get up to speed.”

Retailers will gain $81 billion from the “Internet of Everything,” which is the term given to the connectivity of an increasing number of people, processes and things, in 2013. But according to new research from Cisco Systems, Inc., this only reflects 45% of the potential return.

Rochester, Minn. - Tile Shop Holdings has appointed Chris Homeister to the newly created position of COO, effective immediately. In this role, Homeister will oversee supply chain, retail operations and merchandising.

Homeister previously served as the GM and senior VP of Best Buy's Entertainment Business Group, where he led all elements of this multi-billion dollar business across retail and online channels.

Boston -- Over half (54%) of American bought a product associated with a cause over the last 12 months, a 170% increase since 1993, according to a report by Cone Communications. And 89% of Americans are likely to switch brands to one associated with a cause, given comparable price and quality, up nearly 35% since 1993.

Miami -- By moving its ecommerce operations to Oracle Commerce, online health supplements retailer PureFormulas will take advantage of Oracle’s multi-site architecture to support expansion, while significantly enhancing its customer experience and personalization capabilities.   
 

Framingham, Mass. – Staples, Inc. has completed the acquisition of Runa, a software company based in San Mateo, Calif., that helps online retailers increase sales by personalizing the shopping experience. Terms and conditions of the acquisition were not disclosed.