News

NRF urges Senate to pass TPA bill
The National Retail Federation is urging the Senate to quickly consider the stand-alone Trade Promotion Authority bill so that it can move to the president’s desk for his signature.

NRF issued the following statement from Senior Vice President for Government Relations David French:
Brookwood Village unveils remodel plans for redevelopment
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Cypress Equities, the management company for Brookwood Village, announced its plans for updating the interior of the two-level shopping center that straddles the communities of Homewood and Mountain Brook.

Home Depot exec 1 of 2 new BN board members

Barnes & Noble Inc. has appointed a Home Depot president and a former executive of PaineWebber as two new independent directors to its board ahead of the company's separation of its retail and college businesses.

The new board members are Ann-Marie Campbell, president of the southern division of Home Depot, and Paul B. Guenther, former president of PaineWebber Group Inc., the parent company of Paine Webber, Incorporated.
Abercrombie annual meeting: Changing of the guard

New York — Less drama and fewer flipflops — those were some of the changes at Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s annual meeting on Thursday, Columbus Business First reports. It was the first annual gathering since longtime, controversial CEO Michael Jefferies left the company. For the full story, click here.
PizzaRev launches home delivery for online orders

Los Angeles – Fast casual pizza chain PIzzaRev has launched the delivery of online and mobile orders through Postmates, on-demand delivery service. The partnership ensures PizzaRev customers a flat $4.99 delivery fee, and the service is currently available for seven PizzaRev restaurants in the greater Los Angeles market.
McDonald’s using tablets to let customers customize burgers

Oak Brook, Ill. — McDonald's is letting customers really have it their way. The fast-food giant has launched an expansion of its "Create Your Taste" program to a new location in San Francisco. The customized burger building system that allows customers to order from a tablet-like kiosk where they can customize everything from choice of buns and cheese to toppings and sauces.
Why Staples and Office Depot need to merge

Amazon.com launched its new Amazon Business marketplace earlier this year and now companies such as cloud-based e-commerce solution provider ChannelAdvisor are making it easy for suppliers to tap into the platform’s potential.

"The combined company will allow us to provide more value to customers and more effectively compete in a rapidly evolving environment,” said Ron Sargent, Staples chairman and CEO.
What the CFO Needs to Know About IT

The role of IT has shifted dramatically in retail in the past 10-15 years, from a simple automation tool to an enabler of competitive advantage and business transformation. At the same time, the role of the CFO in IT has shifted quite a bit as well, and some top finance executives may feel a little uncertain about their place in the new retail IT landscape.

Brian Kilcourse and Paula Rosenblum, managing partners at RSR Research who have both previously served as retail CIOs, have some advice for today’s retail CFO.
Ex-Walmart exec is new co-owner of N.Y. retailer

A former Walmart executive has joined with a real estate executive to expand New York City-based luxury home décor retailer Gracious Home.
Report: The money behind women’s closet doors

New York -- Women have a real investment hiding in their closets, according to a survey by Alliance Data’s Card Services business, which manages store-brand credit card programs for retailers.

One-fourth of survey respondents indicated the total value of the items in their closet to be from $1,000 to $2,499, and 17% valued the contents between $5,000 and $9,999.