News Briefs

A leading energy drink brand and a rap legend are teaming up to help consumers adjust to daylight savings time with a special free product.

For the second year in a row, 5-Hour Energy is partnering with Flavor Flav, the “hype man” from iconic rap group Public Enemy, to promote a free giveaway of its 0.5-ounce 1-Hour Energy product, designed specifically to help boost the energy of consumers adapting to the loss of an hour of sleep. 

"At 5-hour Energy, we're all getting what makes you tick and making sure you never run out of steam," said Jeff Sigouin, president and COO of 5-Hour Energy parent Living Essentials. "That's why we created 1-hour Energy — to tackle that yearly energy slump with a fun, fast fix.”

As part of the promotion, Flavor Flav will be participating in a series of media appearances and activations. He will also be surprising commuters throughout New York City on Monday, March 10, 2025 – the first workday after the time shift from standard to daylight savings time.

In addition, starting Feb. 28, 2025, a bottle of 1-hour Energy will be provided free with any 5-hour Energy product purchased on 5hourEnergy.com while supplies last.

"It's true,” said Flavor Flav. “Even ya boi gets tired from daylight savings time. I'm so hyped to be back partnering with 5-hour Energy to help everyone keep their energy levels at a 10, even with one less hour in the day. Between my favorite grape flavor, my decked out custom clock, and the chance to surprise fans, it feels like 1-hour Energy was made just for me.”

[READ MORE: Kroger offers free 'Hour Back Boxes' ahead of daylight savings]

The nation’s second-largest book retailer has promoted a company veteran to its C-suite.

Brandon Waters has been named chief information officer (CIO) at Books-A-Million, Inc. effective immediately. He will now oversee the retailer’s technology strategy and initiatives, and continue leading project management and business intelligence teams, fostering collaboration on IT initiatives, including advancements in AI.

Waters rejoined Books-A-Million in June 2024 as senior VP of IT, overseeing key digital implementations for financials, supply chain, and merchandising while supporting existing systems and driving efficiency and innovation. Before serving more than four years in multiple roles at Milo's Tea Company, Waters spent over 15 years at Books-A-Million from 2004 to 2020 in various tech-focused roles. The company says Waters has played a key role in the company's e-commerce, mobile app and loyalty program launches.

"Brandon's rapid impact since rejoining BAM! has been truly impressive," said Terrance G. Finley, CEO of Books-A-Million, "His strategic vision, technical expertise, and dedication to our company's success make him the ideal leader for our IT department. We are confident that he will continue to drive innovation and enhance our technological capabilities as CIO."

[READ MORE: Books-A-Million takes same-day delivery national with Walmart]

Founded in 1917, Books-A-Million operates more than 200 stores in 32 states as well as its e-commerce site, Booksamillion.com.

Deckers Brands is automating key workforce management tasks and supporting management decisions with data.

The parent company of footwear brands such as Ugg, Hoka, Teva, Koolaburra, and Ahnu is deploying the Legion workforce management platform in an effort to improve labor operations while improving employee satisfaction across its retail locations worldwide. 

[READ MORE: On-fire running brand Hoka opens its first U.S. flagship]

Leveraging the AI-based Legion platform, Deckers Brands intends to streamline workforce compliance by helping managers navigate local requirements and jurisdiction-specific scheduling needs.

The company will be able to utilize the Legion workforce management solution to support more than 70 workforce management use cases, including scheduling, demand forecasting, compliance, and frontline communications. 

Deckers Brands will gain the ability to offer flexible scheduling, with a recent survey from UKG revealing that 27% of frontline employees are willing to resign due to lack of workplace flexibility. 

"At Legion, we employ our deep expertise in enterprise AI to help customers address their specific workforce management challenges while building toward their strategic goals," said Sanish Mondkar, founder and CEO of Legion Technologies. "In choosing Legion WFM, Deckers Brands has made an investment in its workforce management that is designed to improve labor efficiency, improve employee engagement, and ultimately drive superior customer experiences."

Deckers Brands products are sold in more than 50 countries and territories through select department and specialty stores, company-owned and operated retail stores, and select online stores, including company-owned websites.  

(Photo: Elias Parise)

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is continuing its acquisition of former Big Lots leases.

The close-out retailer has purchased 40 additional former Big Lots store leases from Gordon Brothers. The acquisition of the leases is subject to final bankruptcy court approval and customary closing conditions. Including the 40 new Big Lots locations, Ollie’s has acquired a total of 63 former Big Lots store leases to date following its September 2024 bankruptcy filing.

“We are excited to announce the acquisition of an additional 40 former Big Lot store locations,” said Eric van der Valk, president and CEO of Ollie’s, who took the reins of the company on Feb. 2. “Everything about these stores lines up well with our business and growth strategy. These locations are the right size, come with favorable lease terms, are located in existing and adjacent trade areas, and have long serviced value conscious consumers.”

Van der Valk added that the new leases provide Ollie’s with the opportunity to accelerate new store openings in 2025 above its 10% annual growth target and open approximately 75 units.

[READ MORE: Ollie's acquires 11 former 99 Cents Only locations]

Headquartered in Harrisburg, Pa., Ollie’s operates 568 stores in 31 states. The retailer sells closeout merchandise and excess inventory in a variety of departments, including housewares, food, books and stationery, bed and bath, floor coverings, toys, health and beauty aids, and more. 

Marketplace advertising platform Pacvue is offering a new integration to Walmart’s retail media network.

Pacvue has rolled out Walmart Display Campaign Management, a service that enables advertisers to create and manage their onsite display campaigns for the Walmart Connect retail media network (launched in 2021 as a revamped version of the Walmart Media Group)directly through the Pacvue platform. 

The new campaign management solution leverages Pacvue's existing integration with Walmart Connect to streamline workflows and provide advanced audience targeting tools and reporting insights. 

"We are thrilled to provide our clients with this new display ad functionality to expand their advertising efforts on Walmart," said Melissa Burdick, co-founder and president of Pacvue. "With our new Walmart Display Campaign Management solution, advertisers now have the ability to reach shoppers at critical points in their shopping journey across multiple ad formats through one centralized place for a seamless experience."

Pacvue was previously selected as a beta partner for Walmart Connect’s display advertising API functionality, giving advertisers on its platform immediate access to Walmart’s onsite display self-service ad offering.

Now, advertisers can create and modify campaign attributes, item sets, creatives, and audience targeting directly through Pacvue’s integration with Walmart Connect. Batch updates streamline modifications across multiple campaigns, with the goals of saving time and reducing manual errors.

Leverage Walmart’s first-party data, advertisers can target behavioral, contextual and demographic segments, tailoring campaigns to reach frequent buyers, first-time customers and lifestyle-specific personas.

The solution also delivers integrated reports offering data on audience engagement, campaign effectiveness and sales impact. In addition, it offers features to optimize workflows such as budget management, dayparting and campaign rules.

[READ MORE: Walmart, NBCUniversal partner for live shoppable ads on linear TV]

A Southwestern supermarket operator is teaming up with a platform for omnichannel made-to-order food purchases.

HAC Inc. is deploying the Local Express Made-to-Order solution across its 36 Homeland Stores and 11 United grocery locations in Oklahoma and Texas in an effort to modernize its prepared foods, catering and food services offerings. 

Homeland shoppers can now place customizable online orders such as holiday family meals, party trays, vegetable and seafood trays, and butcher bundles. The Local Express system also integrates with the existing Homeland Stores POS system and enables the retailer to optimize inventory and labor resources used to fill custom orders.

"Partnering with Local Express allows us to offer a user-friendly digital solution that enhances convenience for both our guests and store teams," said Tom Dahlen, CEO of HAC, Inc. "Customers can easily schedule pickups, customize orders, and receive personalized recommendations. With e-commerce, curbside pickup, delivery, and made-to-order catering, we’re committed to providing unmatched ease and service in our market." 

Local Express is providing on location comprehensive training to store staff to help ensure a seamless transition from Homeland Stores’ current e-commerce platform. Homeland Stores also hopes to improve the speed and accuracy of order taking.

"Homeland Stores is a great example of an innovative supermarket operator that sees the importance of foodservice as a critical point of competitive differentiation," said Bagrat Safarian, CEO of Local Express. "Our Made-to-Order omnichannel solution allows the chain’s customers to order and customize prepared foods online without any friction."

[READ MORE: Homeland speeds up queues, enables social distancing via self-checkout]

HAC Inc. is Oklahoma’s largest employee-owned grocery chain, operating 74 locations nationwide, including 36 Homeland Stores and 11 United locations in Oklahoma and Texas.