News

Dole reaffirmed its commitment to increase healthier food options for students by teaming up with grocery retailer Martin’s Supermarkets and wholesale foods supplier Caito Foods to donate salad bars to five public schools in Indiana.

These self-serve produce bars will feature an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Johnson & Johnson has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Alios BioPharma, a privately held clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for viral diseases, for approximately $1.8 billion in cash.

The acquisition will include Alios BioPharma's portfolio of potential therapeutics for viral infections including compound AL-8176, an orally administered antiviral therapy currently in Phase 2 studies for the treatment of infants with respiratory syncytial virus.
 

Staples has kicked off a nationwide tour called "Refresh. Recharge. Refuel." The tour aims to encourage office workers across the country to take a break from the daily grind by visiting a large-scale, popup break room stocked with free snacks, coffee and other beverages.

As part of the tour, Staples will host public break room events in 10 major U.S. cities including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, San Diego and Los Angeles.

San Mateo, Calif. - NetSuite Inc. has released an integrated solution with ChannelAdvisor.

Chicago – Retail is the top industry targeted for data breaches. According to the 2014 Global Security Report from cybersecurity provider Trustwave, retail made up 35% of attacks Trustwave investigated in 2013.

Food and beverage ranked second at 18% and hospitality ranked third at 11%. In addition, POS breaches accounted for 33% of Trustwave’s 2013 investigations, while e-commerce made up 54% of assets targeted and data centers comprised 10% of assets targeted. The median number of days from initial intrusion to detection was 87 days.

Matthews, N.C. – Family Dollar Stores Inc. launches its “Ad Match Promise” program on Sept. 30. When presented with a local competitor’s printed advertisement, Family Dollar stores will match the competitor’s price.

London – A group of U.K. retailers led by W.M. Morrison Supermarkets plc is reportedly seeking to extend the time period for which it can claim antitrust damages against MasterCard from 2006 to 1992. According to Bloomberg, this could add as much as $1.6 billion to the damages the retailers are seeking.

New Albany, Ohio – A federal judge has reportedly rejected an Aug. 29 settlement of a lawsuit over the pay received by co-CEO Michael Jeffries. According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge James Graham in Columbus, Ohio, said shareholders belonging to the City of Plantation, Florida Police Officers' Employees' Retirement System, who challenged the $140 million in pay and additional travel expenses Jeffries has received since 2007, give up too much in the settlement.

Louisville – Convenience chain Thorntons Inc. has implemented the Paytronix Loyalty Platform to support its new Refreshing Rewards customer loyalty program across 174 locations. Leveraging the Paytronix loyalty engine enabled the c-store chain to quickly test a variety of elements in a secure, market-focused pilot program and then rapidly roll out the program to all its stores.

By now it’s old news that Apple plans to disrupt retail payment with its Apple Pay platform. However, lost in the hoopla surrounding Apple Pay was an interesting announcement that Apple is also working on a new interactive, piracy-proof digital music service that it hopes will bring consumers back to purchasing whole albums, as well as individual songs.