News

Campbell Soup Company has named Dave Biegger as SVP of global supply chain, with responsibility for engineering, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, customer service, quality and facilities. The appointment is effective April 1.

Biegger succeeds David White, who will retire from the company after 10 years of service, the company said.

Perhaps no single brand had a holiday season quite as rocky as Sears. When the retailer announced a string of bad news on Jan. 9, shares of Sears Holding Corp. (which includes both Sears and Kmart) went through the floor. Holiday sales at Sears stores were down 9.2% in the nine weeks prior to Jan. 6, a brutal figure when you consider that overall retail sales were up slightly over the holidays (which I’ll discuss more in my next column).

Atlanta - Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. has appointed Fallon as its national creative agency of record following a review period and search that began in October 2013 and ended in January 2014. As Arby's advertising agency, Fallon will lead the strategic creative development and implementation for the brand's television, radio, print and digital channels.

Fallon will officially begin work effective Jan. 21, 2014. In addition to the AFA board, Arby's was also aided by Joanne Davis Consulting, Inc. throughout the agency review process.

Johnson & Johnson cited the strength of key brands in its U.S. over-the-counter business as one of the driving factors that led to what chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky called “outstanding” results for the fourth quarter.

The company reported sales of $18.4 billion for the quarter, an increase of 4.5% as compared to the prior-year quarter. Operational results increased 6.3%. Domestic sales increased 7.4%, while international sales increased 2.4%, reflecting operational growth of 5.6%.

Iselin, N.J. -- McDonald's New York Tri-State Area Restaurants, a franchisor group, has launched a new social media campaign to connect fans across the globe with athletes who will be competing in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Customers can send personalized messages and good luck wishes to their favorite athletes or teams by using the hashtag #CheersToSochi or by visiting www.cheerstosochi.com.

PassBee Media is rolling out a new iBeacon location-based marketing solution. The application is aimed at allowing retailers to target indoor or in-store consumers for increasing foot traffic, engagement, and sales.

PassBee’s iBeacon solution delivers in-store push notifications designed to create a more personalized experience and increase same-customer and same-store sales. For example; a customer checking out a particular outfit, could be served up customized suggestions for accessories to compliment it elsewhere in the store.

Nordstrom plans to open its third fulfillment center at Conewago Industrial Park in Elizabethtown, Pa., in summer 2015. The approximately 672,000-sq.-ft. building, with an additional 470,000-sq.-ft. mezzanine, will enable faster delivery for Nordstrom.com, Nordstrom mobile app and Nordstrom catalog orders.