News

Macy's acquires 60-store beauty retailer Bluemercury
Cincinnati -- In its first acquisition in 10 years, Macy’s has signed an agreement to acquire luxury beauty products retailer Bluemercury for $210 million in cash. The privately held Bluemercury, based in Washington, D.C., currently operates about 60 specialty stores in 18 states, primarily in prime street-level locations and urban lifestyle centers. Most locations include in-house spas. The company also operates an online business.
Stanley Black & Decker, Newell Rubbermaid gain ground in Q4
Stanley Black & Decker and Newell Rubbermaid reported modest but steady growth in the fourth quarter, results that position both companies on solid ground going forward.

At Stanley Black and Decker, net sales for the fourth quarter came in at $2.98 billion, up from $2.88 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013. This was mainly due to increases in volume and price, but partially offset by currency. In terms of net income, the company pulled in $145.8 million, up considerably from last year's $56.1 million.

Epson’s new smart printers offer innovative peripheral connectivity for tablet-based POS

Long Beach, Calif. – Epson has introduced two new OmniLink i-Series smart printers to meet the growing demand for cost-effective, reliable peripheral connectivity in the mobile and tablet POS environments. With Epson’s innovative ePOS-Device technology, Epson's OmniLink i-Series enables retailers to easily add peripheral devices to tablet POS systems, while protecting their legacy peripheral investments. The TM-T88V-i features four USB ports and one serial port, while the TM-T20II-i can accommodate up to three devices.
One-on-One at Retail's Big Show 2015: Q&A with Microsoft's Karen Garette

CSA Editor Marianne Wilson interviews Karen Garrette, Global Retail Industry Director at Microsoft Dynamics.
Former Raytheon CEO joins TJX board

The TJX Companies announced that William H. Swanson has been elected to its board of directors.
Harry & David boosts 1-800-Flowers Q2 performance

Carle Place, N.Y. – The September 2014 closing of its acquisition of the Harry & David brand helped produce extremely strong performance during the second quarter of fiscal 2015 at 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. The retailer reported net income of $45.54 million, more than double the $17.99 million reported in the same quarter a year earlier.
Tech Guest Viewpoint: 6 Ways Big Data Could Damage Your Business

By Owen Shapiro

As every marketer knows, the era of Big Data is here, and with it comes a huge smorgasbord of opportunities to connect with customers in amazing new ways. For marketers and brand managers, the prospect of knowing more about customers’ lives, habits, and desires than ever before is understandably exciting.

While you are preparing to take maximum advantage of all the glorious opportunities Big Data offers, keep in mind that the devil in Big Data could be in these overlooked details:
Lands' End names new CEO

Lands’ End, an apparel brand known for its casual style, may be looking to go in a more luxurious direction after announcing its new CEO.

The company said its new CEO will be Federica Marchionni, who was president of Dolce & Gabbana USA Inc. She will also join the company’s board. She will succeed Edgar Huber, who is resigning from the company on Feb. 17.

Huber led the retailer through its separation from Sears Holding Corp. in April as Sears sought to focus on its core assets.
Report: Flipkart considering $5 billion U.S. IPO

Mumbai, India – Alibaba may not be the only large Asian e-commerce retailer selling shares in the U.S, stock market. Leading Indian e-commerce platform Flipkart is reportedly considering launching a $5 billion U.S. IPO.
Wegmans getting wild -- with shrimp

Wegmans is looking to bolster its reputation as one of the nation’s best food retailers with a promotion that will see the retail sell massive quantities of shrimp.