News

GoJo Industries, the makers of Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer, have issued a challenge to consumers to adopt 30 days of healthy habits by joining the Purell Advanced 30-Day Challenge.
 

Washington, D.C. - Families this summer will spend slightly more on back-to-school items than they did in 2013. According to NRF’s 2014 Back-to-School Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the average family with children in grades K-12 will spend $669.28 on apparel, shoes, supplies and electronics, up 5% from $634.78 in 2013.

Williams-Sonoma has appointed Ronald R. Young SVP, global, as part of its strategy to grow the brand outside the United States.

“Global expansion is one of our most important initiatives, and I’m pleased to have Ron Young, with his more than 30 years of experience in global markets, leading our continued growth,” said president and CEO Laura Alber. “Ron’s deep understanding of the global retail landscape, and his financial discipline are the ideal combination of skills and experience to lead our global strategy.”

Los Angeles – New York-based investment firm Standard General, which owns a roughly 44% stake in troubled apparel retailer American Apparel Inc, is reportedly preparing recovery plans that both include and do not include controversial former CEO and founder Dov Charney. According to Reuters, Standard General is leaving the decision of whether to allow Charney to return to the company up to the American Apparel board, following a third-party investigation by FTI Consulting.

Loblaw’s board of directors has named executive chairman Galen G. Weston as president, effective immediately. Thomas O'Neill, lead independent director, confirmed the appointment as part of a series of management changes at the company.

As executive chairman, Weston is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the company and leading the board. In assuming the role of president, Weston will also be responsible for the execution of the company's strategy, leadership of the management team and its overall business performance.

Mountain View, Calif. – Customer experience testing provider UserTesting is launching its free service Peek out of beta. Peek allows anyone to receive free five-minute videos of real people using their website, mobile site, or mobile app.

In roughly four months in beta, Peek achieved 40,000-plus user tests delivered, almost two years’ worth of videos watched, 202,000-plus video views, and more than 8,000 social postings and shares. Retailers including Staples and Wal-Mart have used Peek.

Macy’s is gearing up for the 2014 back-to-school season by reaching out to moms, kids and college students with a one-day shopping event in select locations nationwide called Teen Vogue Back-to-School Saturdays on Aug. 9.

During the shopping event, back-to-school shoppers will be able to pick from a showcase of fall fashions.

New York -- At first glance, the IBM-Apple partnership may seem to do little more than formalize a connection between two technologies that are mainstays of most retailers’ infrastructures. The fact is many retailers already use Apple iPhones and iPads as devices for in-store activities like product lookup, checkout and inventory management. And IBM is a leading provider of retail data analytics technology.