News

The ranks of smokers may be dwindling but there is one place where lighting up remains socially acceptable and one iconic brand is capitalizing on the situation.

Destination Maternity has appointed the managing partner of investment firm Voce Capital to the company's board of directors.

"As a long-term investor in Destination Maternity, we look forward to bringing additional shareholder perspective to the board and continuing to work constructively with the company to help enhance its value," J. Daniel Plants of Voce Capital said.

Apple Pay’s got nothing on this new body part-based method of conducting commerce.

The world of payments has become very dynamic in recent years which explains why a trade show called Money 20/20 in only its third year of existence is able to attract more than 7,500 attendees. Everyone from scruffy start-up types touting the virtues of bitcoin, to government regulators, well known retailers and major credit card issuers were on hand at the recent show in Las Vegas to gain insight into the rapidly evolving space.

Meijer is taking a different approach to Cyber Monday this year.

Instead of online sales, the retailer says it will focus on offering discounts through its digital couponing site: mPerks. For Cyber Monday, the retailer is offering a coupon for 20% off a single item through mPerks on in-store purchases today only.

Few retailers have as much at stake this holiday season as RadioShack which explains why the company made the high risk move of relaunching its Web site just days before the busiest shopping weekend of the year.

The struggling retailer said the redesign of RadioShack.com offers an easier user experience and comes just in time for the holiday season and kicks off a week of free shipping offers on promotionally priced goods.

Basketball season is just now getting underway but next spring when top high school teams square off at a tournament in New York Dick’s Sporting Goods will be there as title sponsor of the event.

For the second consecutive year, Dicks will serve as title sponsor of the event to be held April 2-4, 2015 and televised on ESPN networks.

Cyber Monday may just as well be an official holiday considering  findings of a new study that show how little work actually gets done.

New York - Macy's continues its aggressive social media push with the launch of online video ads on Facebook starting on Thanksgiving evening. The ads are part of the retailer’s Black Friday weekend campaign.   The ads will feature cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants, who will also appear in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. They will target women age 21 and over.   

Foothill Ranch. Calif. - Struggling teen apparel retailer Wet Seal has hired an investment banker and a senior adviser to analyze potential financial alternatives. Similar to other retailers in the teen sector, Wet Seal has faced up stepped-up competition from fast-fashion leaders such as Forever 21 and H&M.   

Reston, Va. - For the holiday season-to-date, $17.5 billion has been spent online using desktop computers, an 11% increase versus the corresponding days last year, according to comScore.  Friday, November 21 has been the heaviest online spending day of the season to date at $914 million in desktop spending. Two other individual shopping days (Wednesday, Nov. 12 and Wednesday, Nov. 19) have also surpassed the $900 million threshold.