Sales & Marketing

New York -- Consumers are expected to spend an average of $582 on holiday shopping this season, and 23% plan to spend more than $750, according to a survey by Accenture. And half of consumers (52%) expect to increase their spending by $250 or more.

Regional retailers are typically defined by geography, but Charlotte, N.C.-based Belk is a bit different than most. Distinguished by its signature Southern hospitality, the nation’s largest privately held department store chain has a dominant presence throughout the South and a footprint as far west as Oklahoma and north through Maryland. But its reach extends even farther, as Canadians and Californians alike shop its e-commerce site.

One of the biggest problems for retailers is ensuring they have the right sizes and styles available in the correct stores. Retailers that have trouble planning localized assortments are at an additional disadvantage.

Town Shoes knows this challenge firsthand. The 60-year-old company relied on spreadsheets to create assortments, making targeted or clustered store assortments nearly impossible.

Long Beach, Calif. -- Epson America, a supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) solutions, announced that Groupon has selected Epson receipt printers for its recently launched Breadcrumb POS system, an easy-to-use, powerful and affordable solution that runs on iPads for restaurants, bars and cafes. Epson’s most popular food service receipt printers, both the TM-U220 and the TM-T88V, will be available to businesses that order Breadcrumb.
 

Minneapolis -- Best Buy on Wednesday announced major changes to its leadership organization. The company is removing the senior-most layer of the U.S. operation is being removed; resulting in what it called “a leaner structure intended to improve the company’s agility.”

MAHWAH, N.J. — The Fred Meyer Jewelers division of Kroger Co. has selected TD Retail Card Services to take over the private label credit card program for its Fred Meyer Jewelers and Littman Jewelers stores.

Under the agreement, the  business unit of TD will direct all facets of the program for the company's 344 fine jewelry stores in 32 states. 
 

New York -- Signet Jewelers Ltd. announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ultra Stores, Inc. from Crystal Financial LLC. and its other stockholders for approximately $57 million in cash. Ultra operates stores primarily in outlet centers, as well as licensed jewelry departments.
   
Signet will not assume any debt in connection with the acquisition.