News

New York – A $473 million charge resulting from arbitration with The Swatch Group in December 2013 resulted in Tiffany & Co. reporting a net loss of $104 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Tiffany reported net earnings of $180 million in the year-ago period.

In recognition of shoppers’ desire for clean foods with minimal ingredients, Bumble Bee has introduced a new “Heritage Pack” with labeling reminiscent of the 1950s. Retailers may be inclined to say, “so what,” but there are several interesting aspects to the initiative.

Packaging changes among CPG companies are common in an industry where genuine innovation is hard to come by. So a new label, color scheme or pack size tends to elicit a big yawn from retailers.

Despite having comparable store sales decreases in the fourth quarter and fiscal year, Books-A-Million saw core book business improve, driven by what president and CEO Terrance G. Finley  called a strong lineup of new titles.

Revenues for the 13-week period ended Feb. 1 decreased 3.7% to $157.9 million, compared with revenues of $163.9 million in the 14-week year-earlier period. Comparable store sales for the quarter which include comparable 13-week periods this year and last year declined 1.8%, compared with the same period last year.

Severe winter weather has adversely affected many retailers in the fourth quarter, but not Burlington Stores, which saw comparable store sales increase 4% and net sales increase 1.3% to $1.3 billion for the period ended Feb. 1.

Outdoor retailer Cabela’s is bringing its smaller format, next-generation concept to the Indianapolis suburb of Noblesville.

The store isn’t due to open until the fall of 2015 but Cabela’s tends to pre-announce store expansion plans well in advance of actual opening dates as its stores tend to be big news events in the communities where they are located.
Construction is expected to begin later this at Interstate 69 and Campus Parkway in the new Saxony Campus development adjacent to Hamilton Town Center.

Mobile engagement solutions provider Scanbuy introduced a new version of its flagship platform the company contends is fundamentally altering the way marketers approach mobile campaigns.

Scanbuy introduced an all new version of its ScanLife Mobile Engagement Platform to enable enhanced interactions between brands and consumers through QR codes, Microsoft Tag, NFC, short URLs and other mobile triggers in their everyday surroundings, such as stores and restaurants, products and print advertising.

Eva Mendes celebrated this week the launch of her spring collection for New York & Company's with two events in L.A. Mendes joined fashion editors and bloggers for a party at New York & Company's new Beverly Center popup location, and again at the retailer’s Los Cerritos Center location, in Cerritos, Calif.

Trace One, a product lifecycle management company focused on private label, named Mark Martini to its executive team.

Martini, a veteran CPG executive, will lead Trace One’s sales and customer development efforts in North America. Martini has spent 23 years in the CPG world working for companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Catalina Marketing, DemandTec and Symphony IRI Group. Trace One said Martini will leverage his knowledge of consumer demand, shopper insights, price and trade optimization and other go-to-market strategies in his new role as vp of North America.

Leading packaging provider Silgan Holdings named long-time KPMG executive Joseph Jordan to its board of directors.

Silgan isn’t a name familiar to the average consumer, even though its products come in contact with millions of people daily. As a leading supplier of rigid packaging for shelf stable foods and other consumer goods, Silgan operates 87 manufacturing plants worldwide and generates annual sales of $3.7 billion.

The “AHH Effect” advertising campaign Coca-Cola launched last year with a social and digital first philosophy is getting a dose of old fashioned television this spring.