News

NEW ORLEANS — Recognizing that fighting retail crime is a collaborative effort, the National Retail Federation during its annual Loss Prevention Conference and Expo, the National Retail Federation honored six individuals that exhibited exemplary dedication and investigative skills in solving retail crimes.

NRF gave out its Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Award to the following people:

• Kebharu Smith, assistant U.S. attorney, Department of Justice – Houston office;

 

Duracell is bringing peace of mind to the battery category thanks to a new innovation that extends battery life to 10 years when left in storage.

Duracell manufacturer Procter & Gamble called the brand’s new Duralock technology the greatest innovation since the Coppertop was introduced and vowed a level of marketing support that is unprecedented in the brand’s 40-year history.

While the European Union continued to meltdown and Moody’s was downgrading major U.S. financial institutions, 800 representatives from leading retailer and CPG companies were gathered in Instanbul for the Consumer Goods Forum annual Global Summit.

Walmart will have to trust that their @WalmartLabs team is ready to take on the growing challenges of the company's online business now that Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman have stepped down as co-heads.

Harinarayan and Rajaraman became the heads of @WalmartLabs last year when Walmart bought their company Kosmix as a means of enhancing its e-commerce platform through social media.

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Jacksonville, Fla. — A new report from Acosta Sales and Marketing reveals that consumers at all income levels consider price before making a purchase, showing that economic concerns affect everyone.

Washington, D.C. — Former Microsoft executive, Tom Litchford, has been named The National Retail Federation's new VP retail technologies.

Effective July 2, Litchford will lead and manage NRF's Association for Retail Technology Standards and the exclusive, invite-only CIO Council. He will be responsible for developing and enhancing strategic programs, activities and relationships with retail and technology communities both domestically and internationally.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said in a Friday emailed statement that the co-heads of its technology unit @WalmartLabs are leaving the company.

Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman, who ran the 200- person unit in San Bruno, Calif., are taking some time off from the industry, according to the statement. The pair took the helm of @WalmartLabs when Wal-Mart bought their company Kosmix last year.

Wal-Mart said the rest of the technology team will remain intact.
 

New York -- A Thursday report by Bloomberg said that Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren is slated to give his deposition next month over a contract dispute with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.

Citing documents filed Thursday in New York state court, Bloomberg said that Lundgren is scheduled for a half-day of questioning on July 3 in advance of a July 13 hearing on his company’s request for a preliminary injunction.

Wallingford, Conn. -- Edible Arrangements announced on Friday a strategic partnership with private equity firm Catterton Partners, which includes a capital investment toward expanding the Edible Arrangements brand globally. 

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

In addition, Edible Arrangements founder and CEO Tariq Farid said that Catterton Partners brings significant resources in areas from strategy to customer relations to supply chain management, which will accelerate the company's ability to reach new levels of growth.

UNION, N.J. — The growth prospects of the nation’s leading home goods retailer is being questioned following a solid first quarter performance and weaker-than-expected outlook.