News

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot Inc. is thanking teachers with an omnichannel back-to-school program.

The “Gear Up for School” promotion offers teachers who are part of the free Office Depot or OfficeMax rewards program a 25% off coupon for qualifying purchases during Teacher Appreciation Days, Aug. 1-4 and Aug. 29 – Sept. 1.

A month after the launch of the Apple watch, Best Buy will become the first national retailer to stock the new wearable.

The watch will be available in more than 100 Best Buy stores and on BestBuy.com. By the time holiday season arrives, an additional 200 stores will feature the watch.

“The Apple Watch is a big addition to our stores and website, and we know our customers want it,” said Jason Bonfig, senior category officer at Best Buy. “We are excited to bring the Apple Watch to more consumers, especially with the holidays coming up.”

Seattle - Nordstrom and J. Crew Group are expanding a merchandising partnership.

Nordstrom is doubling the number of stores that will carry J. Crew’s Madewell brand of women’s apparel items and accessories.

The department store retailer plans to expand the number of stores carrying Madewell products from 15 to 30 by the end of July, with Nordstrom.com also offering Madewell goods. Nordstrom is the only U.S. retailer to sell a broad assortment of Madewell merchandise, outside of Madewell stores.

Beloit, Wis. – Athletic brand Nike, which first rose to dominance with the ascent of longtime spokesperson Michael Jordan as an NBA superstar in the early 1990s, is maintaining its leading position with consumers.

According to a new survey of 1,000 U.S. adults by online deal site FatWallet, a leading 41% of kids are asking for Nike products this back-to-school season.

Twenty-five food makers across Texas have a shot at getting their products on H-E-B shelves as part of the grocer’s innovative Primo Picks Quest for Texas Best contest.

New York - With plenty of last year's supplies stowed in the closet and the option to restock at-will, back-to-school shoppers may be in no hurry to fill their shopping baskets by August.   

According to Deloitte's annual back-to-school and back-to-college surveys, 38% of surveyed parents shopping for children in grades K-12 said the back-to-school shopping season is less important to their families because they replenish school supplies throughout the year and feel less need to stock up.

Nordstrom and J. Crew Group are expanding a merchandising partnership.

Scottsdale, Ariz. - JDA Software Group Inc. has created a new single-user software solution called JDA Planogram Generator Client, or myPG, which automatically creates large numbers of optimized, store-specific planograms for individual users. The planograms take into account user-defined merchandising instructions, fixtures, assortments and performance data.

In a single batch effort, high volumes of planograms can be quickly produced and distributed. myPG is built on the capabilities of JDA Planogram Generator.