News

Pittsburgh - GNC Holdings Inc. is launching a month-long fundraising and awareness campaign for Run With Us at more than 5,000 GNC stores and online at GNC.com. Run With Us is a curriculum-based health-=and-wellness program that brings elite track & field athletes and aspiring Olympians into the classroom to demonstrate how exercise and nutrition go hand-in-hand with goal setting and self-esteem.

There is no substitute for a strong brand — whatever the sales channel. That’s the basic underlying premise of Interbrand’s annual “Best Retail Brands” report, which ranks the top 50 North American and international retailers by brand value. It’s a premise worth keeping in mind amid all the online versus offline talk. As Interbrand global CEO Jez Frampton puts it: “In the end, it is the brand, not the footprint, that will endure.”

Despite what president and CEO Ajay Banga called a “mixed global economy,” MasterCard Incorporated kicked off the year with a strong quarter.

The company reported net income of $870 million, up 14%, and earnings per diluted share of $0.73, up 18%, in each case versus the year-ago period.

Camp Hill, Pa. – Total drugstore sales at Rite Aid grew 4.9% to $1.99 billion in April 2014 from $1.9 billion the same month in the previous year. Same-stores sales for the month increased 5%.

Rite Aid cited the shift in Easter from March in 2013 to April in 2014 as helping to boost same-store front-end sales.

Canada no longer top priority for U.S. retail expansion

During the past few years, U.S. and international retailers have flocked to Canada in the hunt for top-line growth as store portfolios matured in the United States and there were fewer opportunities for expansion. In fact, many U.S. retailers considered Canada to be an extension of their domestic businesses due to the similarities and close proximity to their home offices.

Denton, Texas – Sally Beauty Holdings reported declining net earnings in the second quarter of fiscal 2014 compared to the second quarter of the previous fiscal year. Net income fell 9.9% to $58.9 million, from $64.89 million.

Net sales fared better, rising 2.4% to $919.47 million from $898.24 million. Same-store sales grew 1%. Higher selling, general and administrative expenses, as well as charges related to a previously disclosed data security breach, impacted net earnings. Sally Beauty also cited weather as negatively impacting sales.

Dick’s Sporting Goods monitors social commentary to boost customer satisfaction

If you really want to know what people think about you, you need to find out what they say behind your back. Historically this has been a tricky proposition, but the advent of social media provides an open forum where companies as well as individuals can check to see what is being said, and whether the commentary is good or bad.

Leading e-commerce imaging provider Kwikee has launched a new collaboration portal for retailers and suppliers to help improve e-commerce conversion.