News

Imprint Plus: Name Badges Can Make a Difference

“A name badge stating a sales associates’ name, title and area of expertise is a personalized introduction to the customer, one that the survey clearly establishes as a pathway to developing better customer relations with the retailer, as well as generating more sales and frequent visits,” says Marla Kott, CEO of Imprint Plus.
Study: Credit card spending grows
Carpinteria, Calif. – America’s love affair with credit cards continues heating up. According to The Nilson Report, purchase volume at merchants for general purpose-type consumer and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid cards issued in the U.S. totaled $4.91 trillion in 2014, up 8.4% from 2013.

Credit cards increased their market share in purchase volume compared to debit and prepaid cards to 53.59% in 2014, up from 52.95% in 2013.

GeekNet Inc. gets new, higher offer following Hot Topic deal

Fairfax, Va. -- Geeknet Inc., which announced a deal on Tuesday to be acquired by teen retailer Hot Topic, said Wednesday it had received a new and higher offer. The company said it would review the new offer.

Geeknet, parent company of online retailers ThinkGeek and ThinkGeek Solutions, said it received an offer from a "strategic buyer" that valued it at $20 per share in cash, or approximately $134.6 million.
Home Depot wants shoppers to be storm-ready

With hurricane season fast approaching, the Home Depot wants to encourage residents to shop its stores for storm-related gear by hosting nearly 700 storm workshops on May 30 from Texas to Maine.
Ahold grows net income, U.S. market share in Q1

Zaandam, Netherlands – Global grocery conglomerate Ahold N.V. had a successful first quarter of fiscal 2015, reporting growth in overall net income and in U.S. market share. Net income more than quadrupled to $230.74 million from $54.16 million, aided by the elimination of discontinued operations from the same period a year earlier.
Chico's struggles continue in first quarter

Chico's FAS Inc. is blaming its first quarter profit decline on restructuring charges and lower sales.
Exclusive: Forever 21 turns Instagram into shopping tool

Los Angeles - Forever 21 Inc.’s social strategy has always been to mix compelling and creative branding with the ability to directly purchase items. Working with Philadelphia-based visual social media marketing company Curalate, the fast-fashion retailer has taken that strategy to new heights by allowing customers to buy goods from its Instagram page.

“Curalate helped us turn what was a purely branding tool into a revenue driver,” said Mario Moreno, global social media manager marketing, Forever 21, Los Angeles.
Brown Shoe embarks on brand building exercise

On the heels of an expectation exceeding first quarter performance, Brown Shoe Company’s new “Caleres” corporate identity takes effect following the company’s shareholders meeting on May 28, which begs the question, what’s a Caleres?
Kate Spade New York looks to personalize online fit with True Fit

New York -- The Kate Spade New York brand has entered into a partnership with True Fit, a fit personalization service, to provide personalized fit and size recommendations for the brand’s apparel and footwear on Katespade.com.

The site will also feature True Fit’s new shoe user experience that delivers accurate fit ratings and size recommendations to consumers while also communicating the nuance of each shoe style.
Arby’s on track for 15% energy reduction by end of 2015

Atlanta -- Arby’s Restaurant Group, franchisor of the Arby’s brand, announced that it has reached an 11% total energy reduction per company-owned restaurant since 2011, paving the way to a goal of 15% energy reduction by the end of 2015. This follows a 2014 reported reduction of 3.3% in average year-over-year energy consumption per company-owned restaurant.