Sales & Marketing

Atlanta -- Aaron’s said Tuesday that it plans to create nearly 1,000 jobs in the United States and Canada this year. The lease-to-own retailer said it has added 50 workers so far this year and is on schedule to hire 500 more based on current store opening plans.

An additional 75 franchised stores is expected to create about 400 jobs.

KATY, Texas – Sue Miller Payton has been named director of marketing at Igloo Product Corp. In her new position, Payton will be responsible for all aspects of product marketing, promotion, advertising and public relations, cyber-marketing including all social media, special events and exhibits. She is based at the company’s corporate headquarters and primary manufacturing location in Katy, Texas.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Retail Ventures reported that income from continuing operations for the quarter ended Jan. 29 was $5.7 million on net sales of $468.5 million, compared with the loss from continuing operations of $5.3 million on net sales of $402.6 million for the same period last year. DSW same-store sales increased 14.9% during the fourth quarter versus an increase of 12.9% last year.

Las Vegas -- Boulder, Colo.-based Wenger took top honors as Store of the Year in the Association for Retail Environments’ (A.R.E.) annual retail design competition. It’s the first U.S. retail outpost for the company, which is best known as the maker of the Swiss Army Knife.

New York City -- American Express Co. announced on Monday that it has introduced a new digital payment service it calls Serve, enabling customers to choose among multiple options to make payments linked to a single account.

The account can be funded from a bank account or a debit, credit or charge card. Payments can be made online, via mobile phones or at stores that accept American Express cards.

TOPEKA, Kan. and MIAMI -- Payless ShoeSource announced that it is now partnering with internationally acclaimed Colombian fashion designer, Silvia Tcherassi, to create the latest Payless designer label, Silvia Tcherassi for Payless, with an initial collection available in May.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Monday by the Commerce Department showed that consumer spending in the United States rose more than forecast in February as incomes climbed.

Bloomberg News estimated spending would advance 0.5%.

Purchases increased 0.7%, the most since October, after advancing 0.3% the prior month. Incomes increased 0.3%, less than the 0.4% projected.

NEW YORK -- Macy's and makeup artist Bobbi Brown have teamed up to support Dress For Success, the international nonprofit that promotes economic independence for disadvantaged women by providing a network of support to help women thrive in work and in life.

Macy's customers can now purchase an exclusinve set of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics;100% of the purchase price of the set will benefit Dress For Success Worldwide. The set retails for $60 (valued at $121) and will be available while supplies last.