News

Toronto -- PayPal Canada is launching PassPort, a website designed to help small businesses sell internationally. On the PassPort website, entrepreneurs can find export market specific guidance on seasonal sales peaks including holidays and events; cultural customs, taboos and trends; shipping and distribution logistics; currency exchange and fees; and customs procedures and taxes.  

Wall Street has tolerated Amazon’s excesses for a long time, but a much larger than expected third quarter loss and tepid fourth quarter outlook was more than the company’s most ardent supporters could stomach.

New York -- The cat is finally out of the bag. Former J.C. Penney CEO and Apple retail head Ron Johnson confirmed that he is launching a new company—but it’s not a tech-gadget delivery service as was widely rumored. Instead,  the new initiative, set to launch in 2015,  is designed to help online hoppers make the right product choices.  

The board of directors of Avery Dennison Corp. has elected Mitchell R. Butier as president and chief operating officer, effective November 1.

Butier has been the company’s senior vice president and chief financial officer since June 2010, and will continue to serve as CFO until a successor is named. Dean A. Scarborough continues as chairman and CEO.

Paris, France -- Digital Social Retail, a division of digital marketing agency Holosfind, is launching a digital convergence platform for the retail industry, integrating innovative technology and centralized management, for real-time streaming of audio and video content and personalized geolocation messaging. After 18 months of development and the signing of a joint venture for the acquisition of technology with the Israeli company Media TV, Digital Social Retail has introduced the Social Retail convergence platform.

For the U.S. as a whole, temperatures will trend similar to last year and below normal, but there will be a split in trends across the nation with warmer temperatures in the West and cooler temperatures in the more densely populated East. The month will begin with warm weather across much of the nation and that will continue into the Columbus Day weekend in the East before turning cooler. The Northwest region will trend wetter than last year, but it still remains drier than normal, while the Southwest will be wetter than last year and normal.

E-commerce solutions provider Digital River said it agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by Siris Capital Group in a deal valued at $840 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, Siris will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Digital River for $26 a share, a 50% premium over the company’s closing price on Oct. 23.

By Bill Bishop, Brick Meets Click   Online food shopping has grown slowly until now, but it’s about to pick up speed. In fact, momentum is so strong, Brick Meets Click now projects online grocery will exceed 10% of total grocery sales in many larger markets by 2020. For some areas in the US, online grocery spending has already reached 6% or higher.