News

By Lee Peterson, WD Partners

If a sacred cow exists among retail strategists today, the price-match is undoubtedly it. As the weapon of first resort, it is the most obvious defense against the rapid rise of “showrooming” and the unbridled growth of online retailing behemoths like Amazon, ruthlessly cutting into retailers’ profits.

Babies"R"Us has entered into a strategic partnership with TheBump.com, a leading pregnancy and parenting website that offers advice, ideas, resources and support to first-time parents.

New York -- Eminence Capital, a 4.9% stakeholder in Jos. A. Bank and a 10% shareholder in Men’s Wearhouse, said it supports Men's Wearhouse's proposed acquisition of the company and demanded that Jos. A. Bank's board sit down and engage in "meaningful, good faith negotiations."

Efforts to merge the two retailers have dragged on for months, with each chain having their offers to acquire the other rejected.

When specialty retail apparel chain Express issued its fourth quarter guidance in early December 2013, it anticipated a promotional holiday season as well as a slowdown in traffic after the Thanksgiving week. What the company encountered, however, was a drop in traffic that was even deeper than expected because consumers waited until much closer to Christmas to shop.

PURCHASE, N.Y. — Fans of Mountain Dew Kickstart will now have two new ways to invigorate their nights thanks to Mountain Dew Kickstart Black Cherry and Mountain Dew Kickstart Limeade, which debut in retail stores nationwide today.

Tampa, Fla. -- Applied Data Corporation (ADC), a provider of fresh item management (FIM), recipe management and scales management software to the grocery retail and food service industries, announced that Publix Super Markets, Lakeland, Fla., has completed implementation of InterScale, ADC’s Scales Management Software system, into all of their stores.

Guess has unveiled a new mobile app for its customers powered by the MicroStrategy Alert Platform.

The new Guess app, which is available simultaneously on Apple iOS and Android devices, offers a personalized high-interactivity loyalty channel between Guess and its customers through their mobile phones. It merges social loyalty with traditional loyalty by rewarding brand ambassador customers for extending Guess campaigns and promotions through their social networks (Facebook, Twitter, SMS, or email).

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- To extend its “commerce anywhere” strategy, Stage Stores has implemented Oracle Commerce. The initiative, completed in less than six months, provided the retailer with a new e-commerce engine, along with guided search and recommendation solutions, all before the 2012 holiday shopping season kicked off.