News

Study: McDonalds lags in Twitter response
New York – McDonald’s responds more slowly to Twitter commentary than other major fast-food hamburger chains, but tweets more often than Wendy’s or Burger King. According to social media analysis conducted by the Wall Street Journal using a tool from Unmetric, Starbucks has 7.7 million Twitter followers, almost triple the 2.8 million Twitter followers held by McDonald’s, the number two fast food chain on Twitter.

Other findings include:
Sprouts grows same store sales again
Sprouts Farmers Market cited strong top-line sales growth as among the reasons for the retailer’s 4.8% comp increase for the first quarter.

Net sales for the first quarter ended March 29 were $857.5 million, a 19% increase compared to the same period in 2014. Net sales growth was driven by strong performance in new stores opened and a 4.8% increase in same store sales growth, the company said.

Walmart to acquire only 13 Target locations in Canada

When Target pulled out of Canada, it was widely expected that Walmart would snap up some of Target's locations. But Walmart has decided to acquire only 13 stores, in a deal worth $136 million.

Walmart announced it has reached agreements to acquire one distribution center, 12 store leases and one owned property in Canada. The retailer says it expects to invest another $153 million to renovate the 13 stores and distribution center, bringing Walmart’s total investment to approximately $289 million.
Brookshire Grocery makes marketing personal with SAP

Tyler, Texas – Millennials are gaining buying power, and a substantial shift to Millennials in the retail marketplace will occur by 2020. For 152-store supermarket retailer Brookshire Grocery Co., the time to start reacting to this developing change is now.

“We needed to figure out how to market to this customer base and make it relevant to them,” said John D’Anna, senior VP and CIO of Brookshire Grocery.
U.K.’s Soletrader steps forward with omnichannel technology

London – British shoe retailer Soletrader sees delivery of an excellent customer experience across all retail channels as crucial to company growth while also providing competitive edge. Soletrader selected MNP Retail’s Order Management System to serve as a real time-inventory, order, and customer data hub.

This has enabled Soletrader to scale growth by way of digital stores and click and collect in-store tablet solutions.
Christie's e-commerce chief joins Loehmann's board

Loehmann's has added a new e-commerce chief to help build the next phase of the off-price retailer's online marketplace.

Loehmann's said that Jeffrey Cripe is joining the Loehmann's advisory board. Cripe, who manages e-commerce partnerships and business development at Christie's, has experience in e-commerce, branding, audience development, and strategic partnerships.
Macy’s omnichannel promotion honors veterans

New York - Macy's will once again run its "American Icons” omnichannel promotion, from May 13 – July 4. The campaign will kick off with #AmericanSelfie, a social media initiative inspiring customers to share photos of what America means to them.
Kay Jewelers gets social for Mother's Day

Kay Jewelers is leveraging the visual power of Pinterest and Instagram by running an innovative social media promotion for Mother’s Day.

The retailer said that visitors to its Instagram and Pinterest accounts will have an opportunity to interact with the brand through eye-catching visuals that showcase the company's jewelry in unique and creative ways, as well as win huge prizes.
NRF: Port backlog ends, imports return to normal

Washington, D.C. - Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is returning to normal levels as officials prepare to count votes on ratification of a new West Coast labor agreement. According to the monthly Global Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, the ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled a record-high 1.73 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in March 2015.
Jins Eyewear, San Francisco

Jins Eyewear, one of Japan’s largest eyewear brands, opened its first-ever U.S. store, in San Francisco's Union Square neighborhood. The 4,900-sq.-ft. space features more than 1,200 different styles of Jins' exclusive frames.