Sales & Marketing

New York -- Walgreens has agreed to create 500 jobs in Illinois over three years and invest $75 million to expand and renovate more than two dozen of its corporate offices, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Total U.S. shopper traffic in retail stores and malls for July 2012

This July, Americans celebrated their independence with barbeques, fireworks and shopping. With Independence Day, July 4, falling on a Wednesday, more consumers than usual took the entire week off. This extra vacation time provided more free time to shop compared to last year’s Fourth of July holiday. July’s retail foot traffic increased 8.1% compared to the previous month and increased 4.6% compared to the same period last year.

DALLAS — Celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe has designed an exclusive collection of vintage-inspired costume jewelry for Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. The collection consists of statement rings, cuffs, necklaces, and earrings.

New York -- Damco announced it has been named a 2012 Partner in Transformation for Sears Holdings Corp. in recognition of its innovative contributions to Sears. Damco is a leading third-party logistics provider specializing in customised freight forwarding and supply chain solutions.

Sears grants the Partners in Transformation award to a select group of supplier companies who have been helping support the transformation of the company through innovation around customers, core retail excellence and financial and operational discipline.

SALISBURY, N.C. — Food Lion customers can support their favorite schools when they participate in the MVP Classroom Rewards program.

When customers shop with their MVP Cards, a portion of their grocery bills spent only on qualified store brand products is automatically credited to the shoppers' local school of choice. Donations up to $2,500 will be distributed three times per year to schools in January, May and September.

New York -- Total operating income of all shopping centers on a square-foot basis in the second quarter of 2012 rose 4.9% from the same quarter last year, while operating expenses rose by a larger 5.8%, according to a new quarterly shopping-center benchmarking report from The National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Post Foods has launched PostGoodness.com, a social website dedicated to positivity and simply helping others have a great day. PostGoodness.com will serve as a community, connecting users through good news and inspiration. People are invited to log on daily to share their good intentions or thoughts of motivation to help to set them on the right track for the day.  Each time someone shares his or her good intention, it will be added to a dynamic grid, inviting "likes", comments, support and shares from other users.

Best Buy founder and former chairman Richard Schulze on Monday offered to buy the struggling retailer and take it private for as much as $8.8 billion. Schulze said he would offer Best Buy shareholders between $24 and $26 for each of their shares in the chain, according to a letter sent to the board that he made public.