News

New York -- Staples and RadioShack Corp. have removed Amazon lockers from their stores, according to Bloomberg. The chains were among a group of retailers who have been testing the system.

According to the report, Staples ended the partnership with Amazon because it didn’t meet the criteria the two companies set up, while RadioShack said the program did not fit with its strategy.

Boulder, Col. -- Publix Pharmacy is North America’s favorite based on customer satisfaction, according to a new study of 3,600 consumers conducted by customer intelligence solutions provider Market Force Information. Target was a close second and Kroger ranked third. All three received high marks in operational attributes such as service, cleanliness, atmosphere and checkout times.

Walgreens and CVS/pharmacy ranked the highest when those consumers were asked to name their pharmacy chain, with 18% identifying Walgreens and 17% CVS.  

1. JustFab

When it found the performance of a legacy data-processing system lagging too far behind the pace of its business, Alpharetta, Georgia-based The Original HoneyBaked Ham Co. of Georgia, Inc. decided to investigate more current options. Difficulties keeping up with the flow of transactional data from its 115 corporate stores and 200 franchise locations during the 2011 holiday season marked the turning point for the retailer.

Phoenix -- Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has completed the implementation of the Manthan Systems ARC BI platform and merchandise analytics technology in 166 retail stores across eight states.

Boston – Rue La La has appointed Robin Domeniconi as chief marketing officer overseeing the company's marketing and creative departments. Domeniconi will report to Steve Davis, CEO of Rue La La.

Domeniconi previously served as chief brand officer for Elle Group, In addition, she has held the position of VP of advertising sales, marketing, and publishing at Microsoft as well as seven-year tenure at Time Inc. where she launched and published Real Simple magazine.

Roseville, Calif. – Revionics, Inc. and Nielsen Holdings, N.V., have signed a multi-year global strategic alliance agreement which will integrate Nielsen Pricing Insights with Revionics Life Cycle Price Optimization solutions. The alliance brings together Nielsen competitive market data with demand-based predictive analytics to help retailers quickly make data-driven pricing changes at enterprise scale to capitalize on competitive marketplace conditions.

Washington, D.C. -- The D.C. Council failed on Tuesday to overturn Mayor Vincent Gray’s veto of the proposed “living wage” bill. According to Washington Business Journal, only seven of the required nine district councilors voted to override Gray’s veto of the Large Retailer Accountability Act.

National Retail Federation (NRF) senior VP for government relations David French issued the following statement:

Duane Reade, a division of Walgreens, held a gala event at the chain’s flagship on Wall Street to mark its success on social media. The drugstore surpassed 1 million followers on Twitter. 

From September 2012 to date, the regional retailer has organically grown its Twitter following by 6,709%, making it one of the fastest-growing accounts on Twitter year-over-year. With 1.1 million followers at latest count, the chain is believed to be the most followed retailer in the drug, food and mass arena.

Overstock.com will be leveraging social media to hold a sweepstakes inspired by its new "The Good Good" advertising campaign.

Contest entrants participate by adding an image or pin representing the work of a non-profit that inspires them to Pinterest. Entrants will then share that pin on the Overtock.com website. One winner will be awarded $2,500, and Overstock.com employees will give the non-profit 100 hours of time.