News

Five hundred suppliers, 200 merchants and 800 meetings equaled made in U.S.A. magic for Walmart as the retailer looked to accelerate domestic sourcing with a first ever event dubbed Open Call.

Walmart held the event at its Bentonville, Ark., headquarters on Tuesday, July 8, to discover domestically sourced products from new and existing suppliers that can help the company meet its goal of buying an additional $250 billion in American-made products in the next 10 years.

Atlanta – Havertys sales for second quarter 2014 increased 2.4% to $175.1 million, compared with $171.1 million for the second quarter of 2013. On a same-store basis, sales for the quarter increased 3.2%.

Havertys closed its Plano, Texas, store in May. In the third quarter, the company will open a new store in Fort Worth, Texas, and relocate its Fayetteville, North Carolina, showroom.

With the official start of summer underway, one-third of small to medium-size business owners (SMBs) say they will not be able to take a vacation this year, according to the latest Small Business Index conducted by Office Depot.

Those who are able to get away this year can do so because they have reliable staff to cover for them while they are away from the office (35%) and have technology that keeps them connected no matter where they are (32%).

By Ryan Ramaker, Acuity Brands

LED lighting is a growing trend in buildings today and with very good reason. It delivers significant energy savings compared to traditional light sources, and the illumination, lifespan and color qualities of LEDs continue to impress.  
   
But there are also additional benefits that are often overlooked. Quality LED illumination can help retailers solve some of the most common retail lighting problems. Here are the top three:

eBags.com, a leading online retailer of bags and accessories, has launched a Back-to-School Bag Finder, which filters more than 5,000 backpacks to help shoppers find “the perfect bag for school.”

Shoppers can choose from 100 brands, including JanSport, Dakine, Herschel, and The North Face, and filter by bag type, color or customer opinion.

Stuart Weitzman has named Monica Schwartz as chief global digital and e-commerce officer. She will report directly to CEO Wayne Kulkin and will be based out of the company's international headquarters in New York.

In this newly created position, Schwartz will oversee all aspects of global e-commerce and digital strategies for the stuartweitzman.com platforms in the United States, Canada, Europe and Hong Kong, as well as the soon-to-be-launched e-commerce site in China.

Acosta Sales & Marketing, a leading full-service sales and marketing agency in the consumer packaged goods industry, has reported that more than 30 national leading consumer brands and 100 grocery retail banners have pledged to support this generation of veterans by participating in the 2014 Wounded Warrior Project Believe in Heroes campaign.

Believe in Heroes benefits Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors.

New York – In a regulatory filing, PetSmart disclosed that its board of directors is considering changes to the company’s capital structure in order to return more capital to shareholders. The disclosure follows a July 3 announcement by activist investor Jana Partners that it holds a 9.9% stake in PetSmart and plans to ask the retailer to explore various options, including a sale.