News

The five year old Green Works brand from Clorox is facing new competition on the natural products front following the launch of Walmart’s Great Value Naturals cleaning products.

Walmart said the introduction of Great Value Naturals furthers its commitment to making eco-friendly products more accessible and affordable and will be available in more than 2,000 stores and online.

Clorox introduced its Green Works brand in early 2008 and the line was prominently featured in Walmart promotional vehicles at the time.

Leiden, Netherlands – Ikea is deploying a standardized, comprehensive and internationally deployed POS software platform from Wincor-Nixdorf. During the next two years, Ikea will install nearly 12,000 POS terminals at 300 stores in 25 countries using Wincor Nixdorf’s TP Application Suite and TP.net software.

Oak Brook, Ill. – McDonald’s reported a slight 0.2% increase in U.S. same-store sales for October 2013. Same-store sales rose 0.5% globally, which also includes a 0.8% increase in Europe and a 2.8% decline in Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

The Shop Your Way loyalty program Sears Holdings introduced in 2009 has been given interesting new social functionality with the introduction of Store Pages.

Warrendale, Pa. – Rue21 has launched its e-commerce site, Rue21.com. Prices on the site will be the same as prices in the retailer’s stores.

In honor of the launch rue21 is hosting a "Shop & Win" contest in which five winners will receive a $50 gift card by talking about their favorite rue21 items on the internet. Using hashtag #shoprue21.com, fans can post pictures or comments on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+.

New York – G-III Apparel Group is reportedly no longer considering a purchase of Jones Group. According to Women’s Wear Daily, G-III, which in October 2013 was said to be close to reaching a deal to buy Jones Group, decided purchasing the apparel retail conglomerate would require taking on too much debt.

Aaron's has promoted VP of finance Steven A. Michaels to VP of strategic planning and business development. Additionally, Robert W. Kamerschen, SVP and general counsel, will add corporate secretary to his responsibilities, and Kimberly R. Rivera is joining the company as VP of learning and development.

"This is an exciting time for all members of Aaron's as we continue to strengthen our management team and build a platform for sustainable growth," said Ronald W. Allen, Aaron's chairman, president and CEO.

Deerfield, Ill. – Walgreen Co. has completed its acquisition of certain assets of Kerr Drug’s retail drugstores and specialty pharmacy business. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.