News

American Eagle Oufitters has turned an April Fool’s joke into a business opportunity by launching its first-ever clothing line for “dogs and their owners,” American Beagle Outfitters, for a limited-edition Holiday 2014 release.

 

The U.S. Department of Energy has named the ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2013 energy standard as the new national energy reference standard, superseding the 2010 version in effect until then.

Within two years, all states must put into effect a commercial building energy code at least as stringent as the 2013 version of 90.1, or justify why they cannot comply.

The updated standard pays particular attention to lighting controls, with more stringent requirements, including*:

New York –- Six in 10 (59%) gift cards are now offered electronically, up 18 percentage points from 2010. According to a new Bankrate.com study, part of the reason may be that Millennials are more than twice as likely to lose traditional plastic gift cards than older adults.  

Walldorf, Germany -- Nearly one-third of consumers say "shared values" as a reason they are loyal to a brand. According to an SAP survey of 3,000 American consumers age 18 and older, while email was cited as the most popular way to communicate with companies, almost half of customers (48%) said they had problems with delayed or no responses to email More than half of those surveyed (54%) would like, or may like, an offer of help before they have to ask for it.

 

Retailers can keep customer data safe and also protect themselves against fraud-related losses by complying with PCI Data Security Standards, including the October 2015 deadline for U.S. retailers to accept cards with Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV)-compliant chips, advised Bob Russo, general manager, PCI Security Standards Council.

New York --Facebook, You Tube, Instagram and WeChat are the most important social media platforms, according to a new report by business intelligence company L2 Inc. The company's second annual Social Platforms Report, which assesses the social investment and performance of 382 brands across eight verticals and 17 platforms, finds that Facebook is the most dominant platform.

 

With a promotional website, a Pinterest page and two stores, specialty crafts retailer Porter’s Craft & Frame is a small company supporting some big plans with a new tablet-based POS platform from Springboard Retail.

“Until recently, we used a PC-based POS system and used tablets to record information on products we bought at trade shows,” said Alex Nielsen, general manager of Porter’s, Rexburg, Idaho. “We had some laptops on carts in stores.”

Former Maidenform CEO Maurice Reznic was named Delta Galil’s CEO of women’s intimate apparel for U.S. and U.K. and president of its U.S. branch.