News

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. — BJ's Wholesale Club is capitalizing on the growing demand for locally-grown produce by launching its "Farm to Club" program in each of its 195 clubs in 15 states. Rolling out this spring and summer, the Farm to Club program includes a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables that will be clearly marked with a special "Farm to Club, Locally Grown" seal.

MINNEAPOLIS — After nearly 30 years, Brian Dunn has resigned as CEO and director of Best Buy. According to the company, Dunn's decision to resign was mutually agreed upon with the company and was not the result of any disagreement with himself and Best Buy. Director G. Mike Mikan has been named interim CEO to lead the company while a search for a new CEO is underway. Richard Schulze, the founder of Best Buy, continues to serve as chairman.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot has joined Supplier Connection, a group of 15 large businesses committed to driving small business growth by simplifying access to their global supply chains.

In March there was a decline in the number of circulars overall, however, pages per flyer increased. The increase in pages was primarily due to a significant increase in Walmart and Toys"R"Us page counts. Much of the promotional activity was driven by Easter falling earlier in April as compared to 2011.

Walmart distributed an additional four-page flyer in the week of 3/11/2012; they also circulated two flyers instead one in most of the markets in the week of 3/4/2012. These additional flyers accounted for the increase total pages as compared with last year.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot said Tuesday it has joined Supplier Connection, a group of 15 large businesses committed to driving small business growth by simplifying access to their global supply chains.

Supplier Connection streamlines the application process for small businesses seeking to become suppliers to the group. Through the web-based portal, small businesses have the opportunity to present their goods and services to many large enterprises with the goal of winning contracts, expanding business and creating jobs.

Dallas -- Tuesday Morning Corp. reported Tuesday that same-store sales for the quarter ended Mar. 31 dropped 3.2% on spending and traffic decreases.

According to the discount retailer, traffic dipped 1.8% for the third quarter and average tickets fell 1.4%. Total revenue edged down 1% to $172.7 million, compared with $174.3 million in the year-ago period.
 

At Westfield San Francisco Centre, a nightly light show projected onto the mall’s iconic dome is expected to be a huge draw.

The center, owned by Westfield, will be showcasing a one-of-a-kind animated 3D light spectacular, called The Heart of San Francisco, which will run nightly on Level 4 Under the Dome from June 15 through July 31.

Featuring iconic San Francisco images, the free show will be projected on the Centre’s 102-ft.-wide dome and set to a collection of San Francisco songs.

By Steve Friedman, [email protected]

If you’re like me and watch more TV than you should, you’ve probably seen the unusual new Target commercials with the hot air balloon. These “Color Changes Everything” spots feature a troupe of lively individuals landing in a hot air balloon (which, when seen from above, sports a gigantic version of the distinctive Target bullseye logo) and cavorting through an urban setting in acrobatic fashion, magically transforming the clothing, accessories and household goods of the people they encounter into stuff that is brighter, hipper and generally cooler and more fun.

Atlanta -- A report released Tuesday by First Data Corp., which tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations, found that warm weather and spring promotions boosted discretionary spending in March.

According to First Data’s March 2012 SpendTrend report, year-over-year dollar volume growth was 8.7% in March, compared with February’s 8.9% growth.