News

Toys“R”Us rewarding most loyal shoppers
For many shoppers, it’s that time of year to skip the holiday meal, devise a shopping strategy and get in line, right?

Well, not if you are a Toys”R”Us Rewards member.

The company is now among the growing ranks of retailers looking to create an aura of exclusivity with shoppers by promoting early access to the hottest holiday prices.

The retailer plans to give its nearly 19 million loyalty program members a sneak peek of Black Friday deals on more than 100 items beginning Nov. 23.
PacSun names former Guess exec as chief marketing officer
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Pacific Sunwear of California announced the appointment of Amber Fredman-Tarshis as its senior VP and chief marketing officer. She most recently served as CMO of Guess?. Fredman-Tarshis’ background also includes executive roles at Puma, Warner Bros., Victoria's Secret.

Dick’s beats Street with sliding Q3 profits

Pittsburgh, P.A. – Although weakening golf and hunting sales contributed to a small decline in net income at Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, the retailer still beat Wall Street profit expectations. Dick’s reported net income of $49.2 million, about a 2% drop from $50 million the same quarter a year earlier.
Net sales rose 9% to $1.53 billion from $1.4 billion, and same-store sales increased 1.1%. E-commerce penetration was 7.3% of total sales, compared to 6.5% in the third quarter of the previous year.
Guest Commentary: Made in the USA?

Unless you are a grandstanding politician, the notion of American apparel production may feel like it was declared dead years ago. Our share of domestically manufactured apparel has dropped from 50% in 1994 to 2.5% in 2012, and this trend shows little sign of reversing on a macro level.
Santa's reindeer now at Build-A-Bear Workshop

Build-A-Bear Workshop has transformed its stores into Santa's Workshops to provide toys for all the children on the "nice list," with the help of Santa's reindeer team. The company said it is introducing eight lovable reindeer and extending play beyond plush with the launch of an exclusive holiday app: Santa's Merry Mission. Guests are encouraged to visit buildabear.com/teamsanta to download the app and learn about each of Santa's merry reindeer.
Study: Facebook leading social network for holiday promotion

New York -- During the 2014 holiday season, marketers will run more campaigns on Facebook than any other social network. According to new data from Experian Marketing Services, 49% of global marketers who run social-media campaigns will do so via organic Facebook posts, and 34% plan to use paid ads or boosted posts.
Three Hot Workforce Management Trends from KronosWorks

As a focus area of retail technology, workforce management may not be quite as sexy as CRM or omnichannel commerce. However, a lot of very exciting stuff is currently happening in the world of workforce management, as attendees of the recent KronosWorks 2014 conference in Las Vegas discovered. Here is a brief summary of three of the hottest current workforce management trends.
CVS Health to open 'health 'innovation' lab

CVS Health has confirmed a report that it is planning to open a CVS Health Digital Innovation Lab this winter in Boston that will focus on “building customer-centric experiences in health care.”
Shoes of Prey opens in-store design studios at Nordstrom

New York –- Omnichannel footwear brand Shoes of Prey is launching an exclusive partnership with Nordstrom to house its design your own shoes studio concept in six Nordstrom locations across the country.
Wal-Mart, Holoma partner on exclusive online photo service

Bentonville, Ark. –- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is partnering with Holoma Inc. to provide a service that is a Walmart exclusive through the holiday season. Consumers can use the online service to create interactive photo cards and gifts that play a related video.