News

New York – Old Navy is launching a back-to-school promotion on the YouTube video platform. The retailer is releasing a video of a new back-to-school anthem, “Unlimited,” featuring cameos by stars of the youth multichannel network AwesomenessTV.

GameStopTechnology Institute (GTI), the specialty retailer’s business unit, has entered into strategic partnerships with Shelfbucks, BestFit Mobile and Dynamic Signal to further extend its focus on driving technological innovation and change within its store environments.

GTI was launched by GameStop to pursue an open innovation strategy whereby the company partners with leading organizations and institutions to explore and build best-in-class research and development capabilities.

Camp Hill, Pa. – Same-store sales increased 4.6% at Rite Aid Corp. in July 2014. Total drugstore sales for the four-week period increased 4.1% to $1.97 billion, compared to $1.9 billion for the same period the prior year.

July front-end same-store sales increased 1.5%. Pharmacy same-store sales increased 6%. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 3.9% from the prior-year period.

Belk president and chief merchandising officer Kathryn Bufano was named president at CEO of The Bon-Ton Stores late Thursday.

Atlanta – The Home Depot Inc. has promoted Ted Decker to executive VP of merchandising, effective Aug. 4. Decker is a 14-year veteran of The Home Depot, where he most recently served as senior VP of retail finance, pricing analytics and assortment planning.

Walmart kicked off its back-to-school promotional effort the way it does every seasonal selling initiative – with a big emphasis on low prices – but added a stronger digital component this year.

The retailer sought to bring a bit of Black Friday and Cyber Monday magic to its back-to-school efforts with a series of price cuts and limited duration offerings designed to generate sales and drive traffic to its stores and Web site.

Fingerprinting and DNA sampling are on back-to-school lists at Sam’s Club this year where the warehouse club operator is using the allure of free services to expose would-be members to its value proposition.

On Saturday, August 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at clubs nationwide Sam’s is offering DNA testing and fingerprint kits as part of an annual free children’s health screening program. The screenings, which combine health and child safety information are available at the 596 Sam’s locations with a pharmacy.