News

BJ's Wholesale Club has renewed and expanded its in-Club advertising contract with IZ-ON Media, a digital media company specializing in in-store shopper marketing services.

For the past three years, IZ-ON Media has provided content programming and delivery, network operations and advertising sales for the BJ's HDTV Network. According to the renewed and expanded deal’s terms, IZ-ON Media will also represent the BJ's In-Club Radio Network.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) have asked an appeals court to overturn a federal judge’s approval of a lawsuit settlement regarding Visa and MasterCard’s credit card swipe fees, saying it was negotiated by only a handful of merchants and would do nothing to bring the fees under control.

Global brand agency CBX has appointed Anthony Simon as group director of its branded environments team. Simon will report to president of CBX Branded Environments Joseph Bona.

Simon joined CBX from TPG Architecture, an architecture and design firm in New York City, where, as design director, he was a responsible for business development, direction and management of design concepts and staff, and account relationships. His key accounts included Perry Ellis, Original Penguin, Crocs, Adidas, Charming Charlie, HTC, RXR and The Empire State Building.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) had forecast that Father's Day spending would shrink this year, reaching just $12.5 billion. But it looks like the smallest of gift-giving holidays fared better than expected.

According to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, a real-time, cloud-based digital analytics platform, overall U.S. retail online sales for the week leading up to Father's Day — June 9-15 — climbed more than 14% compared to the same period last year.

CloudTags, an emerging omnichannel marketing technology company, has partnered with in-store analytics market leader Brickstream to create a comprehensive in-store data platform capable of analyzing physical store intent and behavioral data.

Specialty retailer Batteries Plus Bulbs is doubling down on its existing device repair business with plans to have the service in more than 650 stores by yearend.

Since August of last year, device repair was being tested in 40 markets nationwide and had grown to 275 stores, however the popularity of the service among consumers combined with the surging popularity of smartphones, iPods, tablets and other devices prompted the decision to expand the service to all stores, according to the company.

During the World Cup, Bud Light will donate to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund for each goal scored, up to $250,000. Though Budweiser is the official Beer of the World Cup, 2014 is the first year that Bud Light has been a partner of the month-long event.

"Integrating our sponsorship with education is at the core of our company values,” Bud Light Brand Manager Miguel Nigrinis said. “It's a winning recipe for Latinos that aspire to hold a university degree.”

CEOs from top CPG companies gathered in Paris this week for a meeting of the Consumer Goods Forum where the board voted on a set of common sense initiatives related to health and wellness.
 
The Forum’s board of directors reaffirmed its commitment to the implementation of its Health & Wellness Resolutions published three years ago and said it was committed to leading the industry on several specific fronts, including:

Jeffrey Thomas was elevated to the role of SVP of merchandise operations at Family Dollar as the retailer looks to reignite sales under the leadership of chief merchandising officer Jason Reiser.

Thomas previously served as vp of merchant services and fill a position previously held by Scott Zucker who left the company. Thomas will report to Jason Reiser, Family Dollar’s EVP and chief merchandising officer.

Amazon has thrown its hat into the smartphone ring. At an event in its hometown of Seattle, the online retailer unveiled Fire, the first smartphone it has ever designed.

In a marketplace that’s already crowded with the latest iPhones, Andriods and Blackberrys, Amazon has invested in two new technologies — Dynamic Perspective and Firefly — that make Fire a compelling product that won’t get lost in the mix.