Sales & Marketing

Oak Brook, Ill.-based Schuler Cabinetry, a division of Elkay, said it has expanded its presence in Lowe’s stores in this its 10th year with the retailer.

Earlier this year, Lowe’s completed an expansion of the brand into virtually all U.S. stores, with 900 additional stores being outfitted with Schuler selection centers and/or cabinet display vignettes.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway Inc. announced on Wednesday that it plans to take its Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. gift card and payment services unit public. Blackhawk sells gift cards at supermarkets and through other stores, including drug stores and convenience stores.

Safeway said it plans to file a registration statement for a potential initial public offering of a minority stake in Blackhawk and hopes to complete the IPO sometime in the first half of 2013, depending on market conditions.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Cetaphil, a brand of cleansers and moisturizers, announced that it is partnering with Camp Wonder, an initiative of the Children's Skin Disease Foundation. Cetaphil will sponsor the organization by donating a portion of the proceeds of a special edition moisturizing cream, available exclusively at Walgreens. The brand is also granting $100,000 to fund camp activities and more. The official partnership kicked off in June, to coincide with the annual Camp Wonder.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s reaffirmed its green reputation with the announcement that it will expand its electric vehicle (EV) charging station initiative with 36 new stations across 18 additional Kohl’s locations by the end of fall 2012. The expansion spans three new states, including Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin and adds additional locations to the company’s Texas EV program. With the expansion, Kohl’s shoppers will be able to take advantage of a total of 101 charging stations at 52 Kohl’s locations across 14 states.

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market said Friday that it has launched two new eco-friendly gift cards, with plans to replace the  recycled plastic cards that will be phased out over time.

The new cards – one made of paper and the other of responsibly harvested wood— are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and have a lower carbon footprint, are reusable, recyclable, compostable and require less energy to be produced.

NEW YORK — The Jones Group has entered into an exclusive, world-wide license agreement with Altair, a division of  Marchon Eyewear for the creation, production, marketing and global distribution of ophthalmic eyewear and sunglasses under the Anne Klein brand. The Anne Klein ophthalmic eyewear and sunglass collections are currently produced and marketed under a world-wide license agreement with Luxottica Group S.p.A., which will expire on Dec. 31.  

New York -- The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index climbed to a better-than-expected 74.3, compared to 72.3 in July and representing a three-month high.

Aggressive retail discounting and record-low interest rates boosted the results, but unemployment remains a big concern. 

“Confidence is lackluster,” Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics Ltd., told Bloomberg. “It typifies the economy right now. It’s not strong, but not collapsing either.”

ROANOKE, Va. — Advance Auto Parts  has promoted Rusty Tweedy to area SVP, responsible for store operations in the Mid-Atlantic regions. Tweedy will report to Kurt Schumacher, SVP national field operations. Effective with this promotion, the company is adding a fourth operational area which will enable the company’s field and commercial sales leaders to be more aligned and focused on driving profitable growth.