News

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.
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.

Fast Retailing bringing UNIQLO to Canada

Things didn’t work for Target in Canada, but that hasn’t deterred Japan’s Fast Retailing Co., from announcing plans to enter the market with its UNIQLO format.

The company’s first stores aren’t expected to open until the fall of 2016 when two flagship locations offering budget priced apparel measuring 24,000 and 28,000 square feet are introduced in Toronto.
Forecast: Increasing Competition for DC Sites Closest to the Most Customers

By Kris Bjorson, JLL
Gap Inc. sours on Piperlime e-commerce project

At a time when omnichannel retailing is more important than ever for retailers, Gap Inc. is shutting down one of its digital brands.

Gap Inc. said it is dropping its Piperlime channel so the apparel maker and retailer can focus on fixing the problems plaguing the Gap and Banana Republic brands.
Office Depot enhances online catalog with CoreMedia

Boca Raton, Fla. - Office Depot Inc. has selected CoreMedia LiveContext software to help enhance the customer shopping experience for Officedepot.com by streamlining the collaboration between its online authors to ensure faster time-to-market for executing integrated campaigns. Late in 2014 and within a short period of time, CoreMedia LiveContext was integrated with the Office Depot product catalog, pricing information and front-end modules, providing business users with a single interface to access this real-time information and blend it with marketing content.
Cost Plus takes a shot at movie buffs

Cost Plus World Market is giving movie lovers until Feb. 21 to participate in an online contest that should help the Bed Bath & Beyond division build its email database.

The “Movie Lovers Sweepstakes” offers film buffs a chance to win one of four grand prize packages of free movies for a year (two tickets per week for 52 weeks) and a $1,000 World Market gift card by registering with their e-mail addresses and other personal information at worldmarketsweepstakes.com.
Fast-growing PGA Tour Superstore inks deal with Golf Channel

Atlanta -- PGA Tour Superstore, which is backed by Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, has signed a multi-year national partnership agreement with Golf Channel that includes a brand integration program and a strategic media buy.
ECRM tells retailers what’s working

Making sense of promotional activity can be challenging given the abundance of new variables to consider which is why a recent change from Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM) is much needed.

ECRM, a leader in business innovation and technology, enhanced its data and analytics website at www.ECRMdata.com with new functionality, increased retail coverage and ease of use.
Survey: Consumers spend within means for holidays

New York – Consumers mostly spent within their means during the 2014 holiday season. Only one-in-six Americans spent more than expected this holiday season, according to a new Bankrate.com report.

This is consistent with readings in previous years. Millennials (Americans ages 18-29) were twice as likely as those ages 30-49 to have spent more during the holidays than intended. Overall, one-in-four Americans spent less than expected this holiday season.