Sales & Marketing

Long Beach, N.Y. – For five-store women’s specialty retailer Ooh La La Boutiques, maintaining strong customer awareness is critical for successfully competing with larger, more established brands in its crowded vertical. Add in the impact of Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath on this chain which is located in and around Long Island, and you have a business in need of personal connection with its customers.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Belk is partnering with Project Runway’s 12th season to grow its brand. 

The family-owned and operated department store will be sponsoring this season's accessory wall, as well as a “Modern. Southern. Style.” design challenge that will feature a Belk executive as guest judge. This year's winning designer will have the opportunity to design and sell an exclusive line at Belk.

Williamsville, N.Y. -- Tops Friendly Markets has officially unveiled 12 former Grand Union stores in eastern and northern New York under the Tops banner at grand re-opening ceremonies.

The new Tops branded stores include stores in Saratoga, Warrensburg, Warren, Franklin, Essex, Clinton and Fulton counties.

New York -- Urban Outfitters has signed a lease for 56,730 sq. ft. on three levels at W&H Properties’ 1333 Broadway site, where the retailer will create its innovative new “lifestyle center” concept with new features never before seen from the brand, according to Anthony Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings, which supervises the W&H Properties portfolio.

The retailer will take occupancy in September.  

Winston-Salem, N.C. -- Working with franchise partner Taco Holding, S.A. de C.V, Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation will open its 100th store in Cancun, Mexico, on July 6. The store will feature Krispy Kreme's new international café-style store design, including hot doughnuts, barista specialists, a kid's zone and a drive-thru.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Shop.org, the digital arm of the National Retail Federation, has re-elected Scot Wingo, co-founder and CEO of ChannelAdvisor, a leading provider of cloud-based e-commerce solutions for retailers and manufacturers, to its board of directors.

Wingo was re-elected to the 20-member board for another two-year term by existing Shop.org members along with executives from Belk, HSN, Razorfish, Tory Burch and Urban Outfitters. 

Los Gatos, Calif. – Crocs will implement Centric Software’s product lifecycle management software. Crocs will implement the full Centric 8 PLM suite to manage its product development process, including concept, design and sourcing.

The company will implement the Centric system on a worldwide basis to hundreds of users, including Crocs suppliers and partners. Crocs will integrate Centric 8 with its SAP enterprise software, according to Dale Bathum, Crocs’ chief product officer.

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — Leading home furnishings retailer Ikea has extended its partnership with ECOtality, a clean electric transportation and storage technologies company, and plans to add 24 Blink electric vehicle charging stations across eight more locations in the United States.