News

Dole reaffirmed its commitment to increase healthier food options for students by teaming up with grocery retailer Martin’s Supermarkets and wholesale foods supplier Caito Foods to donate salad bars to five public schools in Indiana.

These self-serve produce bars will feature an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables.

West Des Moines, Iowa - Hy-Vee will deploy the Retail 20/20 exception reporting solution from Agilence Inc. The grocery chain will use the solution to improve operations and reduce shrink.

"While looking for a solution we were keen on finding one that could help us improve our in-store operations, while also making exception reporting a priority," said Darren Baty, senior VP and CIO, Hy-Vee. "After seeing Retail 20/20 in action it became clear that we would be able to reduce shrink and improve our front end with this tool."

GameStop’s business unit, the GameStop Technology Institute (GTI), has partnered with AT&T to develop technical capabilities that enable customers to interact seamlessly via their electronic devices with digital product promotional materials located on store shelves and within identified product communication zones.

Port Washington, N.Y. – Spending during the total back-to-school season (nine weeks ending Sept. 6, 2014) on traditional supplies increased 2% from 2013, with e-commerce acting as a key catalyst at more than 20% growth during the same time period. According to new data from The NPD Group Inc., most back-to-school shopping occurs at retail brick-and-mortar stores (88%), but 2014 online sales claimed an estimated $33 million previously held by brick-and-mortar retailers.

Men's Wearhouse has named Scott Norris as Men's Wearhouse brand and Moores brand president and Paul Fitzpatrick as Jos. A. Bank's brand president. Additionally, it has appointed Jim Thorne EVP of direct sourcing. All three will report to Mary Beth Blake, the company's president and chief merchandising officer.

Hibbett Sports has promoted Jared Briskin to SVP and chief merchant. Briskin replaces Rebecca Jones, who left the company this week.

Evansville, Ind. – Shoe Carnival Inc. has partnered with EBay Enterprise to implement a new omnichannel operational foundation based on EBay Enterprise modular solutions, including retail order management, payments, fraud protection, ship-from-store, and customer care. The integrated technology and services will provide a secure engine to accept payments, drive down fraud rates and consolidate inventory across many of Shoe Carnival’s stores to increase product assortment, while lowering fulfillment transit time and expense.

By R.J. Carver, Corporate Development Associate, Plug and Play Tech Center