News

James Avery, Alpharetta, Georgia
Jewelry retailer James Avery is offering shoppers a more interactive experience, one that connects customers to the brand, at its store in Apharetta, Georgia.

In creating the next “home” for the 60plus-store James Avery, the challenge was to find a way to bridge current customers’ expectations and history with an invitation to new consumers who may not be familiar with the brand.
Acosta Sales & Marketing adds new director
Acosta Sales & Marketing has appointed Randall J. Weisenburger to its board of directors.

Weisenburger is the managing member of Mile 26 Capital LLC. Previously, he served as the EVP and CFO of Omnicom Group Inc. for 16 years. Omnicom is a strategic holding company that manages a global portfolio of leading advertising, marketing, media services, public relations and specialty communications agencies serving over 5,000 clients in more than 100 counties.

IBM: Online Valentine’s Day shopping rises

Armonk, N.Y. - Consumers headed online for their Valentine’s Day shopping this year. According to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark data, during Valentine’s week (Feb. 7 – 13) online shopping rose 10.2% from the same period in 2014.

In addition to overall sales, consumers ramped up their shopping efforts the week leading up to Valentine’s Day. Growth was seen in key verticals including:
What the kids will want this Christmas

From drones to self-driving cars to a Barbie capable of having “real conversations with kids,” the 112th Toy Fair announced this year's hottest trends in toys.

Creative toys that epitomize the Maker Movement (explained below), innovative "smart" playthings, and toys that make a "splash" are among the top toy trends of 2015, according to experts at the U.S. Toy Industry Association (TIA).
BDO survey: Retail CFOs project 3.9% sales increase in 2015

Chicago -- Retail CFOs predict a 3.9% increase in total sales and a 3.7% increase in same-store sales in 2015, according to a new BDO USA survey.

While the forecast is about one percentage point lower than 2014’s bullish projections, 66% of retailers expect comparable store sales to increase, and with 71% of retailers including online sales in their comparable store sales reports, a considerable amount of this 2015 growth may come from further e-commerce sales, which grew 16% in 2014, according to eMarketer.
Urban Outfitters takes next step in omnichannel strategy

Urban Outfitters is taking its omnichannel strategy to the next level by relocating its e-commerce fulfillment center to a new, 1 million square foot building in Pennsylvania. The retail company plans to relocate its Trenton, S.C., e-commerce fulfillment center to a new building in Gap, Pa. Construction of the fulfillment center in Gap is on schedule to be complete by July.
Great American Cookies deploys NCR cloud-based POS platform

Duluth, Ga. -- Great American Cookies has deployed the NCR Silver cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) platform in 89 of its franchise stores nationwide, with additional stores on the horizon this year.

Several factors led to Great American Cookies’ adoption of the platform company-wide, including software integration, ease of use, mobility and value per benefit.
Ascena Retail Group to shut down Brothers brand

Mahwah, N.J. -- Ascena Retail Group is eliminating its fledgling boys brand, Brothers, as part of a strategic review of its Justice business. Ascena launched the Brothers brand about three years ago as a way to enter the tween boys market. The company created Brothers stores inside some of its Justice stores.

Operations related to the Brothers brand are expected to be fully wound down by the end of the company’s fiscal year.
Ace Hardware rolls out delivery service

Snowed in and need a shovel? If you live near an Ace Hardware, you may be able to get that shovel delivered.

That’s because the retailer is rolling out its latest pilot program: Express Delivery. The program allows customers to find the products they need on acehardware.com and have them delivered by a helpful associate from their neighborhood Ace the same day.
Bonprix brings marketing to the cloud with Teradata

Atlanta – Global fashion retailer Bonprix is bringing its marketing activities to the cloud. Bonprix, which is part of Otto Group, is rolling out applications from the Teradata Integrated Marketing Cloud.