News

By Peter Witham, [email protected]

Former Mexican president Felipe Calderón will be one of the key note speakers this fall when the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals gathers in Denver for the organization’s annual global conference.

New York – Improvements in real home prices, initial unemployment claims and real wages drove an increase in the Deloitte Consumer Spending Index last month. The Index, which comprises four components of tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices, rose slightly in May to 4.27 from a reading of 4.12 the previous month.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys "R" Us reported a loss of $111 million for the first quarter, compared with a year-earlier loss of $60 million. It was the struggling chain’s worst quarter in a decade.

Net sales for the quarter, ended May 4, declined 7.8% to $2.4 billion. Same-store sales were down 8.4% domestically and fell 5.8% internationally.

TROY, Mich. — PayAnywhere, a provider of mobile point of sale technology, has launched an upgraded version of its mPOS app for iOS and revamped its merchant portal PayAnywhere Inside.

The app is available for download from the Apple App Store and works with the PayAnywhere mobile credit card reader, which plugs into the audio jack of an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch device, so merchants of all sizes can accept credit and debit card payments directly from their phones or tablets.

NEW YORK — Cosmetic brand Clinique has promoted Jean-Christophe Jourde to the newly created position of SVP and GM of North America. Jourde will be responsible for driving sales and market share growth for the brand in the region and will report to Ricardo Quintero, SVP and global GM of market development. 

NEW YORK — Saks Fifth Avenue plans to launch a new ad campaign encouraging new and existing customers to “discover” what the specialty retailer has to offer via catalogs, direct mail, press initiatives, in-store events, digital marketing, social media and visual displays.

Called “Look,” the ad campaign positions Saks Fifth Avenue as more than just a place for shoppers to buy things they want or need but as a showroom where potential shoppers can search for what is new. 

NEW YORK — Bowing to pressure from the Partnership at Drugfree.org, fashion retailer Urban Outfitters has agreed to pull merchandise made to look like prescription pill bottles, including prescription label flasks and pint and shot glasses, from its shelves.