News

M&M's brand will offer consumers two new ways to add variety to their baked goods. M&M's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bits and M&M's Minis Milk Chocolate Baking Bits are meant specifically for the baking aisle and will arrive on store shelves in 10-oz. laydown bags with recipes on the back. 

Nearly one-quarter of all consumers buy chocolate candy for baking throughout the season, according to the brand. The baking products will be available April 2015 for a suggested retail price of $2.99 to $3.28 per 10-oz. bag. 

San Francisco -- DHgate, an e-commerce marketplace focused on cross-border trade of Chinese goods, will provide its U.S. buyers with a consumer-rated protection plan and repair service through SquareTrade. The partnership makes SquareTrade protection plans immediately available for cell phones, tablets, computers, MP3/4 players, home audio/video and other consumer electronics products.   

Cowen Group, Inc. has designated Oliver Chen as a Managing Director in the company’s Equity Research department focused on key retail sectors.

In his new role, Chen covers specialty retail, broadlines and department stores, and luxury stocks.  Chen is based in New York and reports to Robert Fagin, Cowen’s Director of Research. 

Nashville -- Responding to the Ebola virus that has ravaged West Africa, the Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI) is launching a major campaign to help fight Ebola in Liberia. Working with its partner charities operating in Liberia, the #RetailFightsEbola campaign is rallying retailers, manufacturers and individuals to provide much-needed medical and hygienic supplies to Liberia.   

In announcing its new mobile ordering service, Starbucks referenced a "seismic shift in consumer behavior in which many traditional brick-and-mortar retailers experienced a decline in foot traffic compared with significant growth in online shopping" during the 2013 holiday season. Indeed, consumers are increasingly comfortable with bypassing physical stores and purchasing goods online, especially when facing the prospect of holiday crowds and traffic.  

New York -- Harvard Business Review released its annual list of the 100 best-performing CEOs in the world, and heading up the list is Amazon chief Jeff Bezos.    

Ricola, a manufacturer of herb drops, on Wednesday announced the introduction of Revitalizing Herb Drops, which work to restore energy. The drops contain a powder-filled center with B-vitamins to help give consumers a natural boost when they have a cough or cold, the company said.

Crowd-sourced services provider Gigwalk has blending location-based mobile technology with new analytics capabilities to create Gigwalk Enterprise.

The company contends the new offering will help organization maximize the effectiveness of their workforce from anywhere in real time. Gigwalk said its enterprise offering will allow brands to mobilize internal teams to collect and activate data to mend issues in retail execution, as well as improve collaboration with retailers and supply chain partners to drive in-store sales.