News

UPS plans to expand UPS My Choice and the UPS Access Point network, two services that, according to the company, work seamlessly together to manage residential package deliveries.
 
UPS My Choice, the customizable online and mobile service where consumers choose delivery preferences, will now be available to consumers in 15 additional countries throughout North America and Europe. UPS My Choice was first introduced in the US in 2011.
 

Atlantic Natural Foods has acquired the Loma Linda brand of canned shelf stable alternative meat analog products. ANF will also license the Worthington Foods brand and will transition these products to the Loma Linda brand in the near future. Both brands were previously marketed solely by Kellogg Company.

Atlantic Natural Foods has been the sole producer of these products since 2008. In addition, ANF also purchased Kellogg Company’s Kaffree Roma alternative coffee beverage unit.

Costco reported a rise in sales and same-store sales for the fourth quarter.

Net sales for the quarter were $34.75 billion, an increase of 9% from $31.77 billion in fiscal 2013. Same-store sales for the total company increased 6%, while U.S. same-store sales also rose 6%.

Net income for the quarter was $697 million, or $1.58 per diluted share, compared with $617 million, or $1.40 per diluted share, in the year-ago period.

iWallet Corporation, a secure luxury “techcessories” company, has appointed three new members to its board of directors including Carl Rosen, former COO of Bulova, then international consumer luxury goods company; Charles Ng, VP of sales at NEXT Biometrics and the former North American director of sales for Fingerprint Cards and sales director for Authentec, a biometric fingerprint technology; and Anthony Durkacz, EVP of the investment firm First Republic Capital Corporation.

As part of its digital strategy, Avon has revamped its website.

"The Avon representative and her social circles have been the core of our business for more than 125 years," says Matt Harker, VP, Avon North America marketing. "The new site and a recently launched social media center help to forge strong connections between the representative and her consumers. We are giving her the tools, training and incentives to be a successful multichannel social seller."

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Sixty-two percent of consumers expect live chat to be available on mobile devices, and 82% would use it, according to a new study commissioned by Moxie Software. Seventy-five percent of survey respondents stated that they would prefer to use live online chat versus calling to speak with an agent.

Franklin, Tenn. -- Software companies Square and Epicor lead the fast growing Mobile POS software market in North America according to new research from IHL Group, a global retail research and advisory firm.  

Mobile POS installs are expected to grow by 110% this year as more retailers replace electronic cash registers and POS terminals with mobile devices.

Neuhausen, Switzerland -- Tyco Retail Solutions has announced positive results from its RFID pilot with Chico’s FAS. With focus on evolving its omnichannel retailing strategy, Chico’s partnered with Tyco to address inventory accuracy and visibility challenges in 13 Soma Intimates pilot locations.

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects sales in November and December (excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales) to increase a healthy 4% to $616.9 billion, higher than 2013’s actual 3% increase during that same time frame. This would mark the first time since 2011 that holiday sales would increase more than 4%.

Minneapolis - Christopher & Banks Corp. is cutting its sales forecast for the third quarter of fiscal 2014, based on sales trends to date for the quarter. The company believes sales have been negatively impacted by continued softness in mall traffic and lower than expected sales from its September fashion show, as the demand for fashion merchandise exceeded planned inventory levels, as well as due to late receipts associated with the West Coast port disruptions.