News

GENEVA & LONDON — P&G Prestige has entered into a licensing agreement with Alexander McQueen to manufacture and sell designer fragrance products under the Alexander McQueen brand name.

Walmart isn’t the first place that comes to mind as a destination for professional business attire so at first blush it was a bit odd to see the company affiliated with a group called Dress for Success Worldwide.

That said, there is more to Dress for Success than meets the eye which is why Walmart, in keeping with its female empowerment objectives, contributed $500,000 to the organization with week. The funds were presented during a special event held in conjunction with the Walmart Northwest Arkansas LPGA Championship.

SEATTLE — Point B, a management consulting and venture investment firm, has partnered with BusyLife Software so it can streamline its mobile commerce platform for retailers.

PITTSBURGH — Following the acquisition of Heinz by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital, the company has announced a new senior leadership team.

Now that Walmart U.S. derives more than 66% of its sales from food, consumables and health and wellness related categories, Kroger is more of an immediate threat than Amazon.

Amazon.com and Walmart.com both sell products online, but that’s where the similarities end despite frequent efforts to compare the two.

With an ongoing investigation into alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the last thing Walmart would want to do is enter a market like Russia. Nevertheless, a Bloomberg report this week linked the company to a retailer few Americans have ever hear of.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation welcomed today’s announcement that the Federal Trade Commission plans to investigate patent trolls. 

“Patent trolls are a drain on the economy,” NRF SVP and general counsel Mallory Duncan said. “It’s time for Washington to put an end to this abuse of our nation’s laws. Seeing this issue receive top-level attention from the FTC is a significant development.”

LONDON — U.S. retailers can look across the pond to Tesco for some digital inspiration. The retailer is launching a new tablet app that will allow shoppers to sign up for its Tesco Clubcard. 

Tesco is looking to recruit more customers to sign up for the retailer’s loyalty card and join the 17 million who already have it. 

The app, built by mobile marketing specialists Incentivated, is hosted on dedicated iPads located in specially created branded cases attached to the walls of stores.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation on Wednesday welcomed a letter from lawmakers urging the Internal Revenue Service to back off a proposed accounting rule change that could cost many retailers millions of dollars a year.