News

San Diego – Mobile messaging provider Bulletin has released DealSiftr, a mobile dealfinder app for iOS devices. With DealSiftr, users fill out a personal profile to tell the app exactly what they're looking for, and then DealSiftr will serve up the most relevant daily deals straight to the user's mobile device.

Deerfield Park, Ill. – Walgreens received a perfect score of 100% on the 2014 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). This marks the ninth year Walgreens earned 100% on the CEI, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

SED International Holdings chairman Sham Gad has assumed the role of CEO at the troubled supply chain management provider and distributor of consumer electronics and small appliances.

Gad fills a role previously held by Mike Hagan who was appointed to the position on an interim basis in October following the resignation of former CEO Robert O’Malley.

New York – Eight of the 25 largest retailers (32%, or roughly one-in-three) failed to deliver at least one package ordered on the cutoff date to arrive before Christmas via standard shipping in a study performed by StellaService. The study involved placing three orders, one each in the East, West and Midwest regions, from each retailer.

Of 75 total orders, 12% missed the delivery estimate. All but one of these orders were shipped using UPS, which is the preferred carrier for most of the top 25 retailers. Some retailer-specific results include:

Reston, Va. -- Several retail subcategories were among the top-gaining in November as Thanksgiving kicked off the holiday shopping season. According to comScore Media Metrix analysis of U.S., desktop activity in November 2013, the retail categories of toys, consumer electronics, jewelry/luxury goods/accessories, department stores, mall, and fragrances/cosmetics all were among the top 10 gaining desktop site categories in November.

Online discount retailer DealYard has optimized its site in a customer-friendly way, using personalized recommendations that are provided by CRM vendor 4-tell. In addition, users will receive ideas on what to add next, a feature provided by VeInteractive.

Compton, Calif. – Numerous law firms have launched investigations into the board of directors of Arden Group, Inc. to determine possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law in connection with the sale of the company to the investment firm TPG.

January 2014 is projected to be the coldest in three years for the U.S. as a whole. The storm track, which will favor the milder and wetter Pacific, will be driven inland across the West with storms moving into the Plains and then heading into the Great Lakes or re-developing off the New England coast. This pattern will produce colder trends across the East Coast, but there will be short warm-ups ahead of the storms that will help to keep average temperatures near normal.