News

For the third consecutive year, Apple and Google came out on top in a ranking of the 100 most valuable brands in the world.

Valued at a whopping $170.3 billion in Interbrand’s 16th annual Best Global Brands report, Apple increased its brand value by 43% over last year. Google, valued at $120.3 billion, increased its value by 12%. (The top 10 brands are listed at the end of this article.)

There will be a change at the top of lifestyle apparel retailer Tommy Bahama.

The company announced that Terry R. Pillow will retire as CEO of Tommy Bahama Group on January 30, 2016, the end of the company's fiscal year. He will be succeeded by Douglas B. Wood, Tommy Bahama's current president and COO.

When it comes to a primary device, consumers of all ages make the same choice by a clear margin.

According to a new survey of 4,000 consumers from Adobe, 92% of millennials consider the smartphone as their primary device.

Tablets, however, show opposite age trends. While 72% of all consumers say they own tablets, baby boomers and 70 and over report higher usage. 87% of respondents use tablets at home, with 66% using it every day. Top activities include reading emails (72%), playing games (60%), sending emails (60%) and shopping (55%)

By now, you’ve probably heard that Facebook will be testing a “dislike” button. Unconfirmed reports say the button will be designed to let users express empathy for posts about negative events, such as the death of a loved one.

Assuming Facebook does introduce a dislike button, retailers will need to decide whether to enable it on their Facebook pages. Here are two pros and one con a dislike button would pose to retailers.

Pro #1: Instant Sentiment

On the heels of lackluster quarterly sales, job cuts and an overcharging scandal, Whole Foods is getting another round of bad publicity, and this time it’s about prison labor.

The retailer announced that it will stop offering products made by prisoners next year. The company specifically said it will stop selling tilapia sourced from Quixotic Farming and cheese distributed by Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy, two private companies that partner with Colorado Correctional Industries (CCI), a division of Colorado's Department of Corrections.

Global management consultancy Kurt Salmon is acquiring digital retail technology agency Mobispoke LLC, the engine behind such technologies as smart fitting rooms, integrated mobile apps and other leading-edge, interactive shopping experience technologies.

Following the acquisition, Mobispoke will rebrand as Kurt Salmon Digital and will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Kurt Salmon.

Gelson's Markets is joining Smart & Final on the acquisition of some Haggen properties in Southern California.

Gelson's, a regional supermarket chain operating in Southern California, announced it is bidding on eight Haggen locations across five counties: Los Angeles County (Santa Monica); Orange County (Laguna Beach, Ladera Ranch); Riverside County (Rancho Mirage); San Diego County (Carlsbad, Del Mar, Pacific Beach); and Ventura County (Thousand Oaks).

New York -- Brixmor Property Group announced commercial real estate professional Mark Salma has joined the company as VP of redevelopment. In his role, Salma will focus on Brixmor’s anchor space repositioning projects in the North region with the goal of driving higher sales, traffic and small shop leasing at the property level.