News

Fort Wayne, Ind. -- Do it Best Corp. announced that VP of retail logistics John Snider will retire, effective June 30, 2014. The company’s VP of marketing, Tim Miller, will move into the role.

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. said it has completed its acquisition of Harris Teeter Supermarkets for about $2.5 billion. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Harris Teeter shareholders will receive $49.38 per share of Harris Teeter common stock.

Albertson, N.Y. - Facilities service management company ServiceChannel is partnering with cloud-based business intelligence platform GoodData. Through this partnership, ServiceChannel customers will now be able to have access to more than a dozen years of independent GoodView cost and performance data through its ProView intuitive reporting and visualization platform.

London – Online luxury retailer Avenue 32 has launched a mobile and tablet strategy allowing designers to showcase their collections to the public without having to invest in their own online presence. Since its launch, mobile traffic has more than doubled and average transaction value has increased 270%.

Working in partnership with Usablenet, Avenue 32 provides seamless and customized experiences for both mobile and tablet; the mobile site provides a task-based experience whereas the tablet site is focused around browsing and discovery.

Burlington, Mass. – Demandware has acquired privately-held Mainstreet Commerce, a provider of cloud-based order management solutions. Demandware hopes the combination of its enterprise-class commerce platform and Mainstreet Commerce’s distributed order management solution will simplify order orchestration between online and in-store shopping processes; optimize store and Web inventory; and enable retailers to deliver a “buy anywhere, fulfill anywhere” consumer experience.

Washington, D.C. -- Retailers overwhelmingly agree mobile must be the number one priority for their digital business in 2014, according to the 2014 Shop.org/Forrester Research Inc. State of Retailing Online survey. More than half (53%) marked mobile efforts as a top priority, identifying responsive design, mobile site optimization, and tablet redesign among key focus areas.

Plans for the fragrance division of Marc Jacobs to open a pop-up in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood are not terribly unusual. But the type of currency the shop will accept is.

The Daisy Marc Jacobs Tweet Shop, which will be open during New York Fashion Week, from Feb. 7 to 9, will trade in social currency instead of money.

Modell’s CEO Mitchell Modell will be extending a personal welcome to Super Bowl fans who visit the flagship store in Times Square, N.Y., via the Tensator Virtual Assistant. The company has invested in the interactive digital signage to personalize its brand and reach out to customers in more than 10 languages.
 

Target plans to carry on its Canadian expansion this year with nine additional stores, the majority of which will open in Ontario, although the retailer plans to open single stores in Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta and B.C.

Herman G. Rowland Sr., Chairman of the Board for Jelly Belly Candy Co., is the recipient of the first ISM Lifetime Achievement Award.

ISM, a trade show of confectionery and snack products, honored Rowland with the show's first award to kick off this year's show.