Sales & Marketing

Target’s longstanding pricing philosophy of remaining within a few percentage points of Walmart remains intact, according to the most recently monthly pricing survey from Credit Suisse. The firm looks at prices on a basket of goods in Dallas and Chicago each month, and in January it revealed the gap between Walmart and Target had widened to 3.9% from 3.7% in December.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. announced it will free delivery and no interest financing if paid in full within 18 months on all appliance purchases over $429.

SALISBURY, N.C. — Food Lion announced Friday that it would add more of its MVP savings center kiosks to help customers save on their grocery bills.

MVP savings center kiosks, which are part of Food Lion's MVP customer loyalty card program, were introduced in stores last year. Since their introduction, kiosk coupons have up to five times the redemption rate when compared with coupons delivered via traditional distribution channels, Food Lion said.

Money-saving coupon kiosks also can be found at Bloom and at Harveys.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation last week responded to the Federal Reserve's proposal to cap debit card swipe fees at 12 cents per transaction.

BEAUMONT, Texas -- Conn’s announced that it has appointed Theodore Wright to the position of interim CEO and president, following the news that Timothy Frank will step down as president and CEO of the company and resign as a director to pursue other opportunities.Conn’s said it will immediately commence a formal search to identify a permanent CEO.

By Scott W. Bermack, [email protected]

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. in a regulatory filing on Friday reported that its newly named CEO Louis J. D'Ambrosio will be compensated $7.2 million and a charter airplane for his commute from Pennsylvania to Illinois, as calculated and reported by the Associated Press.

D’Ambrosio will also be eligible for a bonus of up to $2 million, according to the report.

The solid fourth-quarter financial results Target reported last week were quickly overshadowed by long-term growth objectives that gave stakeholders a clear idea of where the company is headed in terms of sales and profits. Target expects its annual sales, currently about $66 billion, to reach the $100 billion mark within six to seven years, and current earnings per share of $4 will at least double over that same time frame.