Sales & Marketing

St. Johns, Fla. -- A week after opening a remodeled store in Apopka, Fla., Winn-Dixie has opened another reformatted store in St. Johns, making it the company's first overhauled location in the North Florida area.

The renovated Winn-Dixie features an expanded grocery department, as well as a deli serving restaurant-quality entrees and side dishes, the retailer said.

Sarasota, Fla. -- Centro Properties Group US announced that GNC has opened a 1,100-sq.-ft. store at Sarasota Village shopping center, located in Sarasota, Fla.

Centro, based in New York City, is the owner of Sarasota Village.
 

SUNBURY, Pa. — Weis Markets earlier this week named Mike Mignola VP store operations and Bruno Garisto VP center store sales and merchandising.

Dallas -- PeopleAnswers and Crabtree & Evelyn announced on Thursday a software licensing agreement for the retailer to use the PeopleAnswers HR solution for pre-employment screening and selection for hourly employees and store managers in its 72 stores across the United States in preparation for the holiday season.

Membership upgrade activity at Sam’s Club could see some improvement in the months ahead if a new software program lives up to its billing. Sam’s Club said it will use DemandTec’s Deal Management software service to enhance its eValues program, which provides members at the $100 Plus level with customized savings offers. Sam’s created the program to added value to its premium membership level and encourage upgrade activity.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us said Thursday it has completed a 5.38 megawatt rooftop solar power system at the company’s largest distribution center in Flanders, N.J.

The solar roof is estimated to offset 72% of the electrical needs for the Toys “R” Us facility, making it the largest operational rooftop solar installation in North America.

Walmart pulled out of Korea a few years ago and may not be paying much attention to the market, but there are some interesting things happening there. For example, Tesco has developed an interesting shopper marketing solution that appeals to time-starved Korean commuters. The strategy could be applied to other urban areas where hordes of smart phone wielding commuters have embraced QR codes and ride well maintained mass transit systems. Even though those requirements rule out most U.S.

Purchase, N.Y. -- A report released Thursday by MasterCard Advisors said that total retail sales in July sustained momentum despite inconsistencies in other areas of the economy.

According to MasterCard SpendingPulse, which tracks national retail and service sales, excluding auto sales retail sales in July 2011 grew by 8.7% year-over-year. 

Retail sales are on par with the average growth of the previous three months.