News

CVS has appointed Tracy Bahl as EVP, health plans, leading the teams responsible for supporting health plan clients and offering health plans guidance to help them navigate the evolving health care marketplace.

Acosta Mosaic Group, the marketing division of Acosta Sales and Marketing, has launched Shopper Solutions, a newly formed agency which combines AMG’s retailer-facing marketing services in the U.S. and Canada and is designed to deliver a streamlined offering to clients across North America.

Touted by the firm as North America’s only purchase design agency for retailers, Shopper Solutions will allow North American retailers to engage their shoppers online and in-store through “captivating shopper experiences.”

Meijer is relying on a familiar tactic to drum up foot traffic into its stores ahead of Thanksgiving Day by once again offering aggressive pricing on turkeys.

"A Thanksgiving meal isn't complete without the turkey, and with these great prices, Meijer wants to ensure that our customers can provide their families with the best holiday experience," said Jerry Suter, VP of fresh merchandise.

Electrolux has named former Sears executive Nolan Pike as SVP and GM of its North American cooking business.

Pike most recently worked for Sears as their Kenmore brand VP and GM and as the top merchant for Sears Home Appliances, the nation’s largest appliance retailer. Additionally, Pike spent many years in manufacturing and led the development, launch and product management of several notable cooking lines.

This year, it seems that you can’t turn on the TV or read the news without seeing that another store is opening on Thanksgiving. Some believe Black Friday is fading away as more retailers choose to open early to compete with other shopping options such as online sales. I don’t think that Black Friday is going away, but I do think that it is evolving to best serve the needs of the consumer. Any retailer that is going to be successful long-term has to evolve, too.

Instacart, a service that delivers groceries from multiple local stores within an hour, has expanded its footprint to include independent supermarket Berkeley Bowl as well as Costco to its grocery store lineup just in time for the holiday season.

The company’s Berkeley and Oakland customers can now mix items from Whole Foods, Safeway, Costco and Berkeley Bowl into one order and have them delivered the same day.

Retailers anticipate a 3.1% increase in sales on Black Friday this year, mirroring their projections from last year. However, a new a survey of top retail chief marketing officers by BDO USA shows that retailers have moderated their expectations for growth in Cyber Monday sales, predicting that sales will grow by 3.7% this year, down slightly from last year’s sunnier 4.3% growth projection.

Toys “R” Us has enlisted Eyeview, a leading provider of personalized digital video advertising solutions for brand marketers, to help the retailer promote Black Friday deals, boost foot traffic and ultimately increase sales.

The solution, called the Black Friday Booster, enables retailers to deliver thousands of personalized, hyper-local targeted video ads, customized by individual customer preferences and local store deals.

Sports Authority has kicked off its 2013 holiday ad campaign, “There’s Nothing Like the Gift of Sport.” The campaign’s message may resonate with those who are already athletically inclined, but will face challenges with XBox One or PlayStation4 aficionados.

The campaign seeks to persuade people to “unplug” this holiday season and embrace sports, a move which has the potential of generating traffic in stores and online as people shop for everything from sneakers and workout clothes to fitness equipment and sports gear.

NPD Group has released its 2013 holiday gift predictions for the home.

“Some items on this year’s home holiday shopping lists deliver warmth, and others make it cold; some items are functional, and some are about the fun factor,” said Debra Mednick, executive director and home industry analyst. “Either way, the hottest home categories for the 2013 holiday season are designed to conveniently deliver comfort, improve health, or bestow simple affordable pleasures.”

The research company pointed to the following leading items: