News

Philadelphia — Franklin Flea’s successful holiday season earned the once-a-week indoor flea market a return booking for April.

Starting back in November, Franklin Flea brought local artisans and vendors together in Center City Philadelphia to showcase handmade, repurposed and antique items as well as an assortment of artisan foods.

The search is on for a new president and COO at Family Dollar following the resignation of Michael Bloom amid deteriorating financial results and a 3% same store sales decline in December.

Atlanta – Havertys reported partial financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013, with sales for the fourth quarter increasing 7.6% to $196.2 million, compared with $182.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2012. On a same-store basis, sales for the quarter increased 9.5%.

Sales for the 12 months of 2013 totaled $746.1 million, compared with $670.1 million in 2012, representing an increase of 11.3%. On a same-store basis, sales increased 11% for the 12 months.

With the new year come resolutions and Sears is looking to capitalize with the FitStudio.com “Points for Progress” program — a fitness rewards program that incentivizes members to incorporate movement into their daily lives to get and stay fit — with the help of pro football analyst and former Steeler Hines Ward.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney issued a brief statement on Wednesday saying that it was "pleased” with its performance for the holiday selling period, and reaffirmed its fourth quarter fiscal 2013 guidance for increased same-store sales. But the retailer did not provide any specific sales data.

RG Barry Brands has named Jeff Cosgrove to head its Foot Petals Business Unit. Cosgrove most recently served as the company's VP of sales and merchandising and off-price channel sales.

"Jeff has filled several critical sales and merchandising roles with us since joining our team in Nov. 2008, and we believe he is the right leader to drive continued growth in our comfort insert business while aligning that business with the vast changes currently taking place in the retail marketplace," said president and CEO Greg Tunney.

Giant Eagle's new Market District Express prototype combines fresh, chef-created meals with traditional and specialty groceries in a 15,500-sq.-ft. supermarket/convenience store hybrid format. The store also includes a restaurant and pharmacy with drive-through access.

Giant Eagle views this latest development as a test. According to various reports, however, plans are already on the drawing board to build two additional Market District Express locations in Ohio, one in the Columbus market and the other in the Cleveland area.

Safeway and Giant Eagle are rolling out the inMarket Mobile to Mortar iBeacon location sensing platform at more than 150 grocery stores in Seattle, San Francisco and Cleveland, with additional retailers and markets launching in the coming months.

iBeacons are micro-location technology that use a low-energy Bluetooth signal to enable unique mobile app experiences based on the customer’s location in the store.