News

The International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association (IDDBA) has named former HEB executive Michael J. Eardley as its new president and CEO. Eardley succeeds Carol Christison, who passed away in March, after leading the association for 31 years.

Eardley will join the IDDBA on August 25 from HEB Grocery Company in San Antonio, Texas, where he has worked for the past 13 years in various roles with increasing responsibility, becoming the director of deli, cheese and prepared foods in 2009.

BitPay, a payment service provider (PSP) specializing in e-commerce, B2B and enterprise solutions for the bitcoin digital currency, has unveiled a new pricing plan that offers basic payment processing free, forever.

The company is hoping to leverage the pricing plan to woo businesses into accepting bitcoin for goods and services.

After a delay of several days, Lumber Liquidators has reported second-quarter results, nearly three weeks after the company revised its full-year guidance, which caused its stock to plummet in recent days.

Net sales for the quarter increased by 2.3%, totaling $263.1 million, compared with $257.1 million in the same quarter last year. But comparable-store sales decreased by 7.1%, with the average sale declining 1.8%. Net income was $16.6 million for the three months ended June 30, down 18.7% from last year's $20.4 million.

Big 5 Sporting Goods’ second-quarter results were affected by a continued reduction in demand for firearms and ammunition. The company also pointed to general softness in the overall consumer environment, adding that the calendar shift of the Easter holiday had a small but unfavorable impact on sales.

The retail industry is undergoing an unprecedented omnichannel transformation with an overwhelming majority of leading retailers aggressively reconfiguring supply chains to provide shoppers a seamless experience, according to a new study from Boston Retail Partners.
 
The omnichannel trend has been underway for many years now, but Boston Retail Partners indicates that more than 90% of retailers are pursuing omnichannel supply chain re-invention efforts the management consulting firm describes as “unified commerce.”
 

Crocs has appointed Claire Fahie-Conley, former VP of U.S. retail for Reebok, as its VP of retail for North America. Fahie-Conley will report directly to Greg Sullivan, GM for the Americas.

Fahie-Conley will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the retail footprint in North America, including the entire fleet of full-price and outlet stores. She will be based out of the new Global Commercial Center in Boston, scheduled to open in late 2014.

Eddie Bauer has unveiled a free iPhone app, called Eddie Bauer Adventure Guide, which lets outdoor enthusiasts look up more than 10,000 unique U.S. locations across nine different activities.

"Inspiring and enabling people to get outside and live their adventure is what we do as a brand," Mike Egeck, CEO of Eddie Bauer, said. "Our new iPhone app makes it easy to do just that."

NCR Corporation, a leading global consumer transaction technologies developer, has appointed Michael Bayer as SVP and president of the company’s retail solutions division. Bayer will report to NCR chairman and CEO Bill Nuti.

Global fitness brand Reebok is expanding its retail footprint in New York with a new 3,070-sq.-ft. FitHub in Union Square.

Reebok first unveiled the new retail store concept at a pilot location in New York’s 5th Ave., in 2012, and has since expanded throughout the city with locations in the Upper East Side; Paramus, N.J.; and White Plains, N.Y.

Same-store sales continue to decelerate at Whole Foods as the nation’s leading natural and organic grocer continues to face traffic and ticket pressures caused by upstart rivals and established competitors.