News

The introduction later this month of an exclusive new beauty brand backed by a high profile celebrity is seen broadening Walgreens' appeal with a key shopper segment.

Walgreens has teamed up with actress Eva Mendes and beauty company Maesa to launch a multi-cultural beauty brand called Circa. The nationwide launch supports Walgreens' desire to increase accessibility to well-priced, diverse, specialty beauty offerings and reflects its commitment to owned brands.

Austin, Texas – The husband or boyfriend who forgets to buy Valentines flowers until late in the day Feb. 14 now has a safeguard. Whole Foods Market and the Instacart grocery delivery app are offering Valentine’s flowers delivered in as little as one hour across 15 major U.S. metros.

Coach's efforts to regain its upscale brand identity received a boost this month with the addition of a veteran luxury goods retailer to its board of directors.

“We are extremely pleased that Andrea Guerra has agreed to join our board,” said Victor Luis, CEO at Coach Inc. “As Coach continues its transformation into a modern luxury lifestyle brand, Andrea's extensive exposure to a wide variety of best-in-class brands and his broad retail and international experience will prove valuable to our team."

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in January 2014 vs. January 2015 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains. Target boosted circular pages used in January 2015 by 18%. Get Fit, Choose Well Eat Well, and Baby circular themes were seen at Target Y/Y. Target added a “Halftime Spread” theme Wrap section in the pre-big game circular featuring PepsiCo products and private label snack foods.

Port Washington, N.Y. – Office and school supplies generally do not have any issues with fit or texture, making them an ideal e-commerce item. Data from the NPD Group backs this assertion up.

Retail spending on office and school supplies grew 1% in 2014 (52 weeks ending January 3, 2015) compared to 2013, with e-commerce serving as the push behind the increase. The e-commerce channel crossed the billion-dollar threshold for the first time, reaching $1.1 billion in sales, and was the only channel to experience growth across all categories.

San Diego – Early results of 2015 suggest it will be a happy New Year indeed for PriceSmart Inc. For the month of January 2015, net sales increased 13.3% to $219.2 million from $193.5 million in January a year earlier.

The retailer’s growth to 36 warehouse stores from 32 a year earlier helped boost sales. In addition, same-store warehouse sales grew 1.7%.
 

San Jose, Calif. – Consumers appear to have been feeling a seasonal hangover after what some analysts have called a relatively strong 2014 holiday season. According to the monthly Retail Performance Pulse for January 2015 from RetailNext, store sales and traffic both declined 7.7%

Brown Shoe Company has added the former CEO of Victoria’s Secret to its board of directors. 

“Adding Lori Greeley -- a well-known and highly-respected leader in retail -- to our board of directors gives us the benefit of her more than 20 years of experience,” said Diane Sullivan, CEO, president and chairman of Brown Shoe Company. “Her energy and passion for the business and her leadership skills will be a welcome addition to our company.”