Sales & Marketing

Following up on last week’s commentary (A dot com disconnect and Canadian e-commerce opportunity revealed), the legislative loophole that has U.S. retailers at a disadvantage to their Canadian counterparts was on display again this week during congressional testimony in Washington, D.C.

MINNEAPOLIS — Emilio Estefan, the Grammy Award-winning music producer and husband to Gloria Estefan, is working with Target in a unique partnership that will the retailer appeal to the Latin community in key markets.

According to Target, Estefan will work closely with the company to curate a special selection of his favorite music, movies and books titled “Emilio Estefan’s Picks” that will available at select stores beginning June 6. Target will also leverage Estefan's close ties with Latin artists to develop exclusive music deals.

Pittsburgh -- GNC Holdings reported Wednesday that adjusted net income for the quarter ended March 31 surged 85% to $64.5 million, compared with $34.9 million a year earlier.

CEO Joe Fortunato attributed the results to double-digit retail same-store sales growth, a growth in proprietary new products and increased traffic.

Consolidated revenue for the quarter increased 23.4% to $624.3 million; same-store sales grew 15.8% in domestic company-owned stores (including GNC.com sales), and 18.4% in domestic franchise locations.

Cincinnati -- Payment processing service-provider Vantiv said Wednesday that it has launched its Mobile Check Deposit product that enables consumers and small business owners to use their smartphone to take a picture of a check and deposit into their account.

The service, which had been in pilot with Town & Country Bank in Salem, Mo., is now available in the United States and already more than 40 financial institutions have signed up for the service.

San Francisco -- The Gymboree Corp. reported Wednesday that it narrowed its loss in the quarter ended Jan. 28 to $24.9 million, compared with a loss of $47.3 million a year earlier.

Sales for the quarter increased 11.9% to $355.8 million, from $318.0 million last year. Same-store sales rose 6%.

The company announced that it plans to open 105 new stores in fiscal 2012, including 80 Crazy 8 stores.
 

With 24 million unique visitors during March, Target.com was ranked 47th on the comScore Media Metrix listing of the top 50 U.S. Web properties for March. That’s an improvement from March 2011 when Target didn’t crack the top 50. The only other conventional retailer in the top 50 was 25th ranked Walmart.com with 39 million unique visitors. It was ranked 33rd last year with 31.7 million unique visitors in March.
 

SECAUCUS, N.J. — More than a year after The Children's Place Retail Stores began its search for a new chief financial officer, following the departure of EVP finance and adminstration, Susan Riley, the company has named Steven Baginski as CFO. He will report to Eric Bauer, COO. 

Hampstead, Md. -- JoS. A. Bank Clothiers said Wednesday that Frank J. Barbarino has been promoted to senior VP and general merchandise manager for the chain, effective April 15.

In his new role, Barbarino will continue to lead the Tailored Clothing Department and will add Sportswear and Furnishings to his responsibilities. He will oversee product design, manufacturing and sourcing, as well as all retailing of the company’s merchandise lines.

Barbarino was most recently VP for tailored clothing.