News

Why all the fuss over Family Dollar?
Dollar Tree and Dollar General shareholders may be wondering why the boards of their respective companies are so intent on acquiring Family Dollar after seeing the takeover target’s first quarter results.
Retail Link insights from Walmart’s top techie
Hers may not be a household name among Walmart suppliers, but few of the retailer’s executives have as much of an impact on the daily lives of trading partners as Suja Chandrasekaran.

As Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Walmart, Chandrasekaran leads the technology and data transformation underway at Walmart that is referred to as Retail Link 2.0. The information sharing system known as Retail Link was pioneered by Walmart more than two decades ago and today is used extensively by suppliers for all manner of supply chain applications.

Epson and Touch Dynamic in partnership to offer more engaging mobile shopping experience

Long Beach, Calif. -- Epson America, a supplier of value-added POS solutions, announced a partnership with Touch Dynamic, a manufacturer in all-in-one POS systems, to address the growing importance of mobile POS as the overall mobile expansion in retail and hospitality continues.

By bundling Epson’s new ultra-compact Mobilink P20 receipt printer with Touch Dynamic’s new 7" and 10" Quest Tablets specifically designed for mobile POS, merchants can increase sales and improve customer service.
Online sales set another new record

Americans’ appetite for e-commerce grew again in 2014 with holiday sales slightly exceeding an optimistic forecast by digital measurement firm comScore.

Total desktop online sales for the entire November through December holiday season advanced 15 percent to $53.3 billion, comScore said. Cyber Monday retained its crown as the highest volume day with e-commerce spending of more than $2 billion.
Target's next big thing: Lilly Pulitzer

Target shoppers looking for the next big thing in fashion are in for a splash of color and bold prints from the retailer’s next design partner.

Target has announced it is collaborating with American resort wear brand Lilly Pulitzer on a limited-edition collection featuring 15 exclusive prints, which are original works of art.
ECRM: Retail circular advertising trends, December 2014

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in December 2013 vs. December 2014 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains. CVS used longer but fewer December circulars, increasing circular pages by 18%. The CVS Christmas Clearance Sale circular was not seen in 2014. Walgreens cut two December 2014 comparable circulars accounting for the 22% drop in circular pages. CVS added a large “THROW THE PERFECT PARTY” promotional block on the inside front page of the 2014 holiday week circular featuring snacks, cookies, coffee, ice cream and sparkling cider.
NYC Retail: Must-See New Stores

New York -- As the Big Apple gets ready to host the National Retail Federation’s “Big Show,” which kicks off Sunday, Jan. 11, the city’s retail scene is buzzing. Here are 10 must-see new spaces:
Walmart de Mexico names new CEO

Walmart is turning to the head of its Latin American business to take over as CEO of Walmart de Mexico.

Enrique Ostale, who is chairman of the board of the retailer's Latin American business, will take over as Mexico chief executive on Jan. 1. The position will oversee Walmart's operations in Mexico and Central America.
Study: Discover Cards have best return extension plan

Arlington, Va. – Consumers who may need some time to decide if they want to keep a purchase should consider applying for a Discover card. According to the 2015 Credit Card Extension Report from CardHub, Discover Cards received top overall score (98%) for their return extension program.

Coming in second and third were Chase Sapphire Preferred (88%), and a tie among Chase Freedom, Barclaycard Arrival and Barclaycard Arrival Plus (79%).
Supervalu tops expectations as profit more than doubles; sales up across segments

Minneapolis -- Supervalu Inc.’s third-quarter profit more than doubled as the supermarket chain experienced sales growth in all three of its business segments. Its results beat analysts' expectations.

Supervalu reported an overall profit of $79 million for the quarter ended Nov. 29, up from $31 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 4.8% to $4.2 billion.