News

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Department store retailer Stein Mart remains in non-compliance with NASDAQ listing requirements for failing to file its most recent quarterly report, but the company appears to be doing fine otherwise.

SAN FRANCISCO — Office Depot, FedEx Office and Go Daddy are anxious to tap into the small office and home office businesses market, which has been enjoying rapid growth and change. To that end, the three have formed a partnership with Planet Soho, a provider of user-friendly online management tools and services for the SOHO market.

BOSTON, Mass. — Former president and CEO of Vibram USA Tony Post has launched Topo Athletic, a new company and brand of athletic gear created by and for athletes that conforms to the human body.

Based in Newton, Mass., Post has launched the new company with $5 million in series A funding from Norwest Venture Partners, a multi-stage investment firm based in Silicon Valley.

In 2006, Post launched the Vibram FiveFingers brand in the United States, which catapulted Vibram USA and minimalist footwear into the limelight.

WAYZATA, Minn. — Sugar substitute Truvia will expand beyond U.S. borders, bringing its stevia sweeteners to Mexico.

Truvia has joined forces with Grupo Herdez, a market leader in the production, distribution, and sale of foods in Mexico, to distribute and market Truvia sweetener in Mexico. Truvia, which recently branched into Canada, will now have a presence throughout North America in 2013, although it could face an uphill battle in Mexico where artificial sweeteners have yet to catch on with consumers.

Retailers are enjoying solid sales of male grooming aids this holiday season, according to NPD.

Men’s grooming products are perennially popular holiday items because they provide a convenient gift-giving solution, but this trend is even more evident this year based on NPD’s findings.

Men’s grooming appliances include men’s electric shavers, facial trimmers, home hair clippers, pen trimmers, body groomers and nose/ear trimmers.

Promotional activity among the nation’s leading retailers declined during November aside from several notable exceptions. There was a flurry of intense promotional activity around Thanksgiving weekend, as always, but for the months as a whole the number of inserts distributed by retailers declined 7% and the number of pages declined by 5%.

Reston, Va. -- In a report released Wednesday by comScore, Green Monday has emerged as the third heaviest online shopping day of the holiday season to date, reaching $1.275 billion in spending.

Just ahead of Green Monday are Cyber Monday at $1.465 billion and Tuesday, Dec. 4, at $1.362 billion.

For the holiday season to-date, $29.3 billion has been spent online.

New York -- In a Tuesday night address at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. president and CEO Mike Duke didn’t shy away from discussing the fiscal cliff, saying that the current debate is having a negative impact on consumer spending.

Purchase, N.Y. -- A SpendingPulse report released Wednesday by MasterCard Advisors in partnership with Wells Fargo found that spending at small retailers in November picked up a percentage point since October, showing a 5.2% year over year improvement.

This was enough to put its growth rate from October to November at 0.7%, more than the growth rate of total U.S. retail sales.

Columbus, Ohio -- Lane Bryant said Wednesday it has unveiled enhancements to its online shopping experience with the shopping tool ‘Just For You.’ In addition, the brand has enhanced its mobile browsing capabilities to create a seamless shopping experience from an iPad mobile device.

“The introduction of these tools is just another way we continue to offer our guest a customized and enhanced shopping experience just for her,” said Liz Crystal, CMO.