News

Execs with Amazon and Nike experience join Razorfish
Digital design and marketing consultancy Razorfish made two key hires to bolster the capabilities of its rapidly growing commerce practice led by Commerce Strategy head Jason Goldberg.

Jon Reily and Steve White were named vice presidents of commerce strategy and both will report to Goldberg. The hire are said to help the agency meet the increasing demand from clients looking for partners able to combine commerce strategy with world-class delivery to reinvent and digitize their retail channels.
RSR Research: Retailers underestimate digital influence
Walnut Creek, Calif. -- Retailers underestimate how much digital technology influences physical shopping experiences, but their expectations are rapidly catching up to reality. According to a new study from RSR Research, “Commerce Convergence: Closing the Gap between Consumer and Brand,” while 84% of retailers surveyed say a digital presence is very important to build brand awareness, but only 64% say it is very important to drive traffic to stores.

IHL: EMV costly, time consuming, out of date for most retailers

Franklin, Tenn. - The new EMV card payment mandate may not provide financial ROI for retailers. According to new research from IHL Group, most retailers will never recoup the expense that EMV imposes.
Study: Retail sales, traffic, transactions drop in May

San Jose, Calif. – Retail sales dropped 7.6% in May 2015 compared to the same month the prior year. According to the monthly Store Performance Pulse from store analytics provider RetailNext, a 9.8% decrease in traffic and 8.3% drop in transactions drove the sales decline.

Much of these declines were concentrated in the third week of the month, leading to an earlier-than-usual Memorial Day weekend.
Dick’s Sporting Goods appoints Kraft finance head as CFO

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. has appointed Teri L. List-Stoll as executive VP/CFO, effective August 2015.

List-Stoll joins Dick’s with 30 years of experience. Prior to joining the company, she was employed by Kraft Foods Group from September 2013 to May 2015, serving as executive VP and CFO from December 2013 to February 2015. Before her role as CFO of Kraft, she served as senior VP of finance from September to December 2013.
Kroger shuffles Harris Teeter executives

The Kroger Co. has named Fred Morganthall, currently president of Harris Teeter Supermarkets, as senior vice president of retail divisions for the Kroger Co.

Rod Antolock, currently Harris Teeter's executive vice president, has been named president of Harris Teeter.
How Target can beat Amazon

New York -- Target Corp. will beat Amazon.com by following three core philosophies, the retailer’s top digital executive (and former Amazon.com exec) Jason Goldberger said during a keynote address at the annual Internet Retailer Conference and Exposition, in Chicago.
Profit drops at Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores

Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc.
Dick’s names ex-Kraft, P&G exec CFO

Dick’s Sporting Goods named veteran consumer packaged goods finance executive Teri List executive vice president and CFO to oversee the retailer’s finance and legal organizations.
NRF supports legislation for state intervention in port disputes

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) is publicly supporting legislation that would amend the federal Taft-Hartley Act to allow governors to intervene in port labor disputes rather than being required to ask the White House to do so.