News

Grocery Manufacturers Association has launched www.FactsAboutGMOs.org, a new website about genetically modified food ingredients designed to put consumers’ concerns about their safety and environmental impact to rest.

Shopko is turning to Innotrac Corporation, a commerce provider that integrates digital technology, fulfillment, contact center and business intelligence solutions, to help the retailer bolster its e-commerce business.

The retailer carries products in a broad range of categories including apparel, electronics, health and beauty, home goods, toys and sporting goods and furniture. Shopko manufactures its own private label brands and in addition to carrying name brands such as Keurig, Adidas, Reebok, Kitchen Aid, Fisher-Price and Sony.

The Hillshire Brands Company will be hosting a panel — “Using Social Tools to Inform Strategies” — at Social Media Week in Chicago Tuesday, Sept. 24. Moderated by entrepreneur and TV personality Bill Rancic, the panel will explore the significance of social insights that impact owned, earned and paid media strategies, and discuss approaches to leveraging the right mix of tools to garner these insights.

The Home Depot has elected Helena B. Foulkes to the company's board of directors. Foulkes will be a member of the finance and leadership development and compensation committees. Her appointment gives the company 11 directors, 10 of whom are independent.

PBteen has unveiled an inaugural collaboration with celebrity stylists and fashion designers Emily Current and Meritt Elliott. The exclusive, one-of-a-kind collection is the first collaboration of its kind for PBteen and represents Current’s and Elliott’s debut into the world of interiors and home furnishings.

Kmart announced the start of its 2013 St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign, which incentivizes Shop Your Way members to make donations to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for childhood cancer in exchange for reward points.

Members of the Shop Your Way loyalty program who donate between now and Dec. 28 will receive a coupon for 5% of the price back in points that they can use toward their next purchase. The offer lasts through Jan. 31, 2014.

Framingham, Mass. – T.J. Maxx has quietly relaunched its e-commerce site, eight years after initially attempting to sell products online, without any promotion or official announcement. A Boston Globe article indicates the site went live on Sept. 18.

New York – Men are highly engaged shoppers, with 63% of men actively looking for in-store sales and 53% regularly using coupons, according to WSL’s “How America Shops: Men & Shopping Report.” The study also shows that 67% of Millennial men use mobile phones to shop, compared to 52% of Gen X men and 29% of Baby Boomer men.

Fort Worth, Texas – Pier 1 Imports, Inc. substantially missed expectations with a 32% decline in net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 compared to the same period last year. Net income totaled $17.8 million in the most recent fiscal quarter, down from $26.2 million.

Total sales were $395.6 million, a 7.6% increase from $367.6 million a year earlier. Comparable store sales increased 3.5% during the second quarter.

Warrendale, Pa. -- Rue21 stockholders have approved the previously announced merger agreement under which funds advised by Apax Partners will acquire the shares of Rue21 for $42 per share in cash. Approximately 99.7% of the shares voted at today’s special stockholder meeting voted in favor of the agreement.