Sales & Marketing

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but it seems like you can’t pick up a paper or click a mouse lately without reading about some big box retailer rolling out its smaller store format. Target has its new 60,000-square-foot CityTarget concept, while Walmart has Walmart Neighborhood Market and Walmart Express stores. It seems like everyone is downsizing.

Target is among the key sponsors of a Kids in Need Foundation event slated for this fall in Minneapolis. The company, along with fellow Minneapolis-based supplier 3M, is supporting the organization’s annual cocktail reception and fundraising dinner to be held September 21 at The Depot from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The guest speaker at the event is former OfficeMax chairman and CEO Sam Duncan.

Newport Beach, Calif. -- JustEnough Software Corp., a provider of demand management solutions, announced that ABC Fine Wine & Spirits has successfully gone live with its allocation and replenishment solutions. The technologies were selected to replace the retailer’s existing allocation system.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Samantha Brown, the popular Travel Channel host, has partnered with HSN to launch Samantha Brown Luggage, her first-ever exclusive collection of travel gear. 

"I want to help travelers simplify their lives as they experience the world with luggage that's functional and fashionable at accessible price points," said Brown.

By Paul Bridgewater, [email protected]

Consumers remain skittish. Despite recent positive economic signs, the latest Gallup U.S. consumer spending report shows that routine daily expenditures at restaurants, gas stations and online stores are still down from their 2008 highs, falling to $58 per day in January 2011, versus $97 for the same month three years earlier.

Las Vegas -- The Forum Shops at Caesars, in Las Vegas, announced that six new stores will be opening soon, joining the 11 new stores and restaurants that have come to The Forum Shops in the past year.

The new stores include Christian Louboutin, Rimowa, Panerai, Hublot and Coach Mens – a first in Las Vegas.

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) board of directors has announced the departure of Steve Berger as president and CEO of CHA. The board of directors will immediately begin a search for a new chief executive. No timetable has been set for securing a replacement. In the interim, Tony Lee, VP meetings and expositions, will serve as acting president and CEO.

New York City -- Winick Realty Group announced that Island Burgers & Shakes, the 15-year-old burger restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen, has signed a lease for its second Manhattan location at 422 Amsterdam Avenue, between 80th and 81st Streets on the Upper West Side.

Island Burgers & Shakes will occupy 700 sq. ft. of ground-floor space, as well as a 500-sq.-ft. basement, when it opens later this year.