News

Sam’s Club is hoping the popularity of author Nicolas Sparks translates to would-be furniture buyers as the warehouse club has launched a new furniture line with a design aesthetic inspired by Sparks’ latest novel.

Technology will give fraudsters an edge in 2015, but it will also provide new tools for organizations and investigators, according to three experts from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) who were asked for their top fraud predictions for 2015. The experts weighed in on digital currencies, information security and other issues that will help shape the effort to prevent and detect fraud in the new year:  

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Imran Joona, executive VP of online, marketing, pricing and financial services at Sears Holding Corp., is leaving the company. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Sears said Joona resigned Dec, 17 and will leave in February 2015 to pursue a new opportunity.  

Austin, Texas – Consumers who didn’t get what they wanted for the holidays are taking matters into their own hands. According to new research from digital deals site RetailMeNot, 81% of consumers plan to shop end-of-year sales.   Of these shoppers taking advantage of post-holiday savings, more than half (63%) plan to shop for themselves. Millennials are especially interested in after-Christmas sales, as 92% of respondents 18 to 34 years old said they plan to shop during this time.    

A search is underway for a new CEO at Walgreens following the resignation of president and CEO Greg Wasson as the retailer moves toward creation of a new holding company ownership structure and complete its largest ever acquisition.

Vendors are leaving billions on the table because they forget to market to the chief marketing officer (CMO) rather than just the CIO and IT department.

According to a new study from IHL Group called “Hidden Treasure – The CMO’s Budget in Retail,” in 2015, the amount of IT purchased through the CMO’s budget will amount to $7.5 billion in North America. This figure is nearly as much as will be spent on core POS for 2015, or 12% of all North American IT spend for retail and hospitality in North America.

Deerfield, Ill. – Cost synergies from its ongoing merger with U.K. drugstore chain Alliance Boots GmBH helped boost net earnings at Walgreen Co. 16% to $809 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 from $695 million the same quarter a year earlier. The combined synergies for Walgreens and Alliance Boots in the first quarter were approximately $140 million and remain on track to reach at least $650 million in fiscal 2015.

Sales rose 7% to $19.6 billion from $18.33 billion. Same-store sales increased 5.7%.

Guitar Center has chosen retailing veteran Darrell Webb to be the company's new president and CEO. From 2011 to 2013, Webb served as chairman and CEO of the Sports Authority.   Webb has more than 30 years of experience in retailing and has led several multibillion dollar companies through periods of rapid growth.