News

Lifetime Brands, manufacturers of brands such as Farberware, KitchenAid and Guy Fieri, has acquired Thomas Plant (Birmingham) Limited.

Chris Saridakis, president of eBay Enterprise, a division of eBay, has resigned for personal reasons, according to the company.

An external search will be conducted for a successor, the company said. Until the search is completed, Tobias Hartmann, VP, omnichannel operations and international, will serve as the company’s interim head.

Saridakis had served as president of eBay Enterprise since June 2011, following the company’s acquisition of GSI Commerce (renamed eBay Enterprise in 2013), where he was part of that company’s management team.

As part of its turnaround efforts, J. C. Penney will close 33 underperforming stores across the country. The move, which will result in the elimination of about 2,000 positions, is expected to result in an annual cost savings of approximately $65 million, beginning in 2014.

New York -- Despite severe winter weather travails during the holiday shopping season, the National Retail Federation said Tuesday that December retail sales didn’t take the hit that many feared.

In fact, taking advantage of heavy promotions and last-minute deals, shoppers were able to move the December retail sales needle up 0.4% month-to-month, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, and up 4.6% year-over-year.



By Lee Peterson, WD Partners

If a sacred cow exists among retail strategists today, the price-match is undoubtedly it. As the weapon of first resort, it is the most obvious defense against the rapid rise of “showrooming” and the unbridled growth of online retailing behemoths like Amazon, ruthlessly cutting into retailers’ profits.

New York – Nicolas Franchet, head of e-commerce global vertical marketing at Facebook, said that compression of screen sizes as consumers switch to mobile devices is the biggest upcoming challenge retailers will face during a session titled “Data the Matters: The Future of Personalization” at the NRF 2014 Conference & Exposition on Sunday, Jan. 12.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. will invest $5 million in a multi-year campaign to educate consumers about cybersecurity and the dangers of phishing scams.

New York -- VeriFone Systems said that Deckers Outdoor Corporation has implemented VeriFone mobile retailing hardware and software to fulfill its omni-channel initiative at 40 UGG Australia store locations. The solution enables store associates to accept payments from the sales floor and sell out of stock products available online through its integration with an e-commerce platform from Demandware.
 

New York -- GE Capital and Kobie Marketing, a loyalty program service provider, will unveil a new product to help retailers establish and maintain loyalty programs that will create a unified profile for shoppers, according to a report by the New York Times.

Wayne, N.J. – Babies "R" Us announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with TheBump.com, a leading pregnancy and parenting website that offers advice, ideas, resources and support to first-time parents as they navigate pregnancy.

Under the arrangement, Babies “R” Us’ registry will now be available to a new, expanded audience of moms-to-be who can create and share their registry directly from TheBump.com via its gift registry center.