Sales & Marketing

New Orleans -- Smoothie King Franchises is targeting the Jacksonville, Fla., metro area to kick off a major expansion calling for 1,000 new franchised and corporate locations over the next five years.

With seven stores in Jacksonville, the company plans to add 10 new locations there over the next three years.

To fuel the national expansion drive, Smoothie King is offering candidates 40% off of its initial franchise fee for the first 40 agreements of 2013 — a savings of $10,000.

FAIRFAX, Va. — Geeknet, the parent company of online retailer ThinkGeek.com, has appointed Julie Pangelinan as the company’s CFO, effective Aug. 12.

Pangelinan has more than 25 years of operations and financial experience, most recently as CFO of Interstate Hotels and Resorts and Sunrise Senior Living.

London -- Global online retail revenues will reach $4.3 trillion in 2025, accounting for nearly 20% of total retail, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan. In leading markets such as the United States and the United Kingdom, nearly 25% of retail will be online, the study said.

FT. LAUDERDALE — National retail brand builder Zimmerman Advertising has shaken up its leadership team. It appointed former Papa John's International CMO Andrew Varga to agency president and promoted its current president Pat Patregnani to CEO. 

West Bridgewater, Mass. -- Shaw’s plans to close six stores operating under its namesake banner by Aug. 3. The locations targeted for shuttering include four stores in the Massachusetts towns of Fall River, Fairhaven, Stoughton, and Taunton and two stores in the Rhode Island towns of Westerly and Woonsocket.

NEW YORK — Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th is opening its third store in metropolitan Atlanta, but the 28,000-sq.-ft. space at the Outlet Shoppes of Atlanta at Woodstock will be the first modeled after the company’s “luxury-in-a-loft” design.

While Best Buy is still the world’s largest consumer electronics chain, it’s no secret that the brand faces big questions about store size, format, and long-term viability in an evolving brick-and-mortar retail landscape. I found the recent announcement that Microsoft and Best Buy had reached an agreement to roll out dedicated Windows “stores” in 600 Best Buy locations across North America this summer to be somewhat surprising, but certainly in line with the needs of both companies.

CINCINNATI and MATTHEWS, N.C. — Kroger, already one of the world’s largest retailers, is about to get even larger. The company plans to purchase all outstanding shares of Harris Teeter Supermarkets for $49.38 per share in cash. 

The merger agreement not only allows Kroger to expand its brands portfolio but also allows it to expand its market with a complementary base of 212 stores, of which 147 have pharmacies, in Southeastern and mid-Atlantic markets and in Washington, D.C.