News

Report: Restaurants remain leading job creator in 2015
Washington, D.C. -- Restaurants will remain the nation’s hottest hirer this year. An annual report by the National Restaurant Association indicated that, as it has for the last 16 years, the restaurant industry employment will outpace employment growth in 2015.
Savings.com updates Favado grocery app
Los Angeles - Savings.com has launched Favado 2.0, a redesigned version of the grocery community savings app. The sale and coupon data in Favado 2.0 is aggregated by grocery saving experts throughout the country and presented in a new visual format.

FTC okays Safeway-Albertsons merger

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has cleared the merger of supermarket operators Safeway Inc. and Albertsons, creating a larger competitor to rival chain Kroger. But there is one caveat.

The FTC agreed to the deal only after Safeway and Albertsons agreed to sell 168 stores to address the FTC’s competition concerns.
Report: Activist fund reduced Family Dollar stake

New York – Investment fund Trian Fund Management LP has reportedly reduced its stake in Family Dollar Stores Inc. from 7% to a little more than 2%. According to the Wall Street Journal, the fund, headed by activist investor Nelson Peltz, had publicly supported the Family Dollar-Dollar Tree merger.

Triad has an executive on the Family Dollar board. The SEC has confirmed Family Dollar shareholder approval of the Dollar Tree merger.
Family Dollar sales up; investor slashes stake

Less than a week after getting shareholder approval to sell itself to Dollar Tree Inc., Family Dollar said fewer discounts led to increased December sales.

For the month ended Jan. 3, Family Dollar said its sales increased 3.6% to $1.21 billion from a year earlier. Same-store sales increased 1.2%, compared with a 3% decline last December.
Study: Holiday e-commerce revenue rises

New York – E-commerce revenue continued its strong growth trend of recent year in 2014. According to the Custora E-Commerce Pulse 2014 Holiday Recap Report, U.S. e-commerce revenue was up 15.6% from the 2013 holiday season.

Black Friday (20.6% year-over-year jump in revenue) and Cyber Monday (15.4% year-over-year revenue growth) were the two biggest single e-commerce shopping days of the 2014 holiday season.
Blackhawk creating new rewards division

Prepaid payment provider Blackhawk Network has created a new division dedicated to providing customized engagement, incentive and rebate programs for consumers, employees and sales channels.
Dixons supports customer service, labor management with Reflexis

London - Dixons Carphone plc has selected Reflexis workforce management solutions to further enhance its customer service offering and increase employee involvement in labor management processes. The retailer will implement the solutions in its 500 Currys, PC World, and Dixons Travel Stores.

After an 18-month review including live trials with multiple vendors, Dixons selected Reflexis Workforce Manager, Reflexis Time and Attendance, and Reflexis Advanced Analytics and Reporting.
Hungry Howie's Pizza to unveil new digital ordering platform

Houston -- Pizza ordering continues to get easier and easier. Hungry Howie's Pizza has partnered with Revention to create a custom digital online ordering platform, a simple-to-use solution that allows customers to order from any internet capable device, whether desktop, tablet or mobile phone.
FTC clears Albertsons, Safeway merger

Boise, Idaho -- Albertsons and Safeway announced on Tuesday that they have received clearance from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for the companies' proposed merger, which was announced on March 6, 2014. 

The FTC's clearance follows Albertsons' and Safeway's agreement to a proposed consent order, which includes a commitment to divest 168 stores.