News

Aaron’s names head of Progressive Leasing unit as new CEO
Atlanta -- Aaron's announced today that John W. Robinson III, executive VP of Aaron's and CEO of its Progressive Leasing unit, has been named CEO of Aaron's, effective Monday, Nov. 10, 2014.
Are you talking to me?
Recently, I participated in a strategic conference that included several sessions on how to effectively use advertising and promotion to reach moms, millennials, multiculturals and other shopper segments. Not surprisingly, significant emphasis was placed on the use of emerging digital and mobile media. But each session also reinforced that traditional media including television, radio, retail feature ads, and Free Standing Insert (FSI) coupons should not be undervalued.

TechBytes: Three Ways SAP Bilt Enhances Customer Experience

About a year ago, I wrote a TechBytes column about a concept app called “Snap", which SAP had developed to provide consumers with interactive instructions for assembling products at home. After some fine-tuning, SAP is now officially launching a DIY home assembly app called “Bilt” for Android and iOS tablet devices.
If the app fits, wear it

Stride has developed a new app called RiteFit that allows an iPad to be used as a device to accurately determine a child’s shoe size.
RetailNext names IBM exec as chief marketing officer

San Jose, Calif. -- RetailNext Inc., a leader in applied Big Data for physical retail, named Marc Dietz as its chief marketing officer. Dietz comes to RetailNext most recently from IBM where he led worldwide marketing for the company’s SaaS portfolio, including multiple acquisitions such as DemandTec, Coremetrics, and Silverpop.
Women in Factories training funded by Walmart

The Walmart Foundation increased to $10 million its investment in an educational program on track to provide training to 60,000 women in 150 factories.

The increased funding commitment to the Women in Factories program begun in 2011 was announced in Beijing by Scott Price, CEO of Walmart Asia at the 2014 APEC CEO Summit. The Women in Factories program has already provided training to 40,000 female factory workers and by the end of 2016 the figure is expected to increase to 60,000 women at factories in India, Bangladesh, China, El Salvador, and Honduras.
Belk partners with HelloWorld in multichannel holiday promotion

Pleasant Ridge, Mich. -- Belk has teamed with HelloWorld, a provider of rich engagement solutions, to launch Santa Baby Sweepstakes, a holiday-themed multi-channel incentive program accessible across digital and mobile channels.
Sobeys seeing red in Canada with PECO deal

Customers and store associates at Sobey’s stores in Canada are seeing red after the operator of 1,500 stores became the latest company to use PECO Pallet’s distinctively colored pallets.

PECO said it added Sobeys to its growing list of authorized distributors in Canada so that Canadian and U.S. manufacturers and produce companies can now ship their products into Sobeys supermarkets throughout Canada on PECO’s wooden pallets.
Amazon launches voice-recognition device, Echo

New York -- Amazon has quietly launched another hardware device, a voice-recognition device called Echo that doubles as a high-tech music speaker. The 9-inch tall cylinder device sells for $199 but is available for $99 for a limited time to Prime members. It is designed around the user’s voice, which it can hear from across a room.
Tech Guest Viewpoint: Personalizing Customer Interactions

By John M. Pierre, Linguastat The single greatest challenge that retailers face today is to have an individualized “conversation” with each customer and to do so on a global scale. Consumers expect a similar personalized experience regardless of channel, from the marketing offers they receive to the products that appear in search results.