News

PLANO, Texas — Snapple has taken a page from Seinfeld, the often self-described “show about nothing,” in its latest marketing gambit. 

Famous Brands International, parent company of TCBY Yogurt and Mrs. Fields Cookies, has appointed interim CEO Neal Courtney as the company’s CEO. Neal had been serving as interim head since February, when then-CEO Tim Casey resigned his post.

FORT WORTH, Texas — RadioShack has appointed marketing and communications executive Merianne Roth as the company’s new VP of communications.

Roth's responsibilities will include RadioShack's corporate communications, community relations, internal communications and event marketing. She will report to Jennifer Warren, SVP and CMO. 

Regional sporting goods retailer Sports Chalet has opened a smaller format prototype store in a new downtown Los Angeles retail development known as FIGat7th.

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. — Newegg, a leading electronics-focused e-retailer in the U.S., has launched a “flash sale” site, NeweggFlash.com.

LOS ANGELES — Virtual Piggy has appointed Ivo Weevers as the company’s creative director of mobile design. Weevers will be charged with leading and managing the mobile consumer experience team.

Weevers has 15 years of experience in creating mobile, web, device and desktop products across multiple platforms. He has directed design work and lead international design teams in the telecom, device, social media, banking, travel, entertainment, medical automotive industries.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Anheuser-Busch’s Fort Collins brewery is celebrating its 25th birthday.

The brewery took nearly three and a half years to construct, and according to the company was designed based on generations of brewmaster expertise. The state-of-the-art fixture has since undergone three expansions, with the last one having been completed April 2003, and which included a brewhouse renovation, additional grain silos, expansion of the fermentation and aging cellars, an additional warehouse and a new truck entrance.  

Sunnyvale, Calif. – David’s Cookies competes in a crowded marketplace and even encounters issues resulting from its own brand fragmentation. Trying to locate and convert leads around the world is understandably a huge marketing expense typically involving lots of time and travel. But since implementing the Ariba Discovery trading platform last year, David’s Cookies has found dozens of new clients with much less time, travel and expense.

Walnut Creek, Calif.  - In a webinar on June 27,  analysts from RSR Research presented insights gleaned from numerous retail IT-focused events they attended this past spring. Their findings focused on five key areas: next generation POS/store/commerce engine, buy side of omnichannel, user experience, high performance computing and cloud.

Indianapolis - The Finish Line's first-quarter net income plunged 59% amid start-up costs related to its deal to open branded in-store shops in Macy’s. But the retailer still beat Wall Street expectations. In other news, the company announced a new role for retiring president and COO, Steve Schneider.

The Finish Line earned $5.1 million for the period ended June 1, down from $12.3 million a year ago. Revenue rose 10% to $351.1 million, also beating expectations. Same-store sales were up 2.4%.