News

Cincinnati -- Macy’s said Tuesday it is piloting or launching a series of tech innovations designed to engage customers and drive sales.

Among the announced programs are free WiFi service in Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores to enable customer use of smartphone apps and in-store tablet shopping. The service, accessible by the end of October, will be activated in 230 Macy’s and nine Bloomingdale’s stores, as well as in the junior’s and young men’s departments of another 79 Macy’s stores.

Dallas -- Neiman Marcus Group reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss on debt-related expense and slightly lower margins, even as its revenue rose 11%.

For the quarter ended July 30, Neiman Marcus lost $61.4 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $32.8 million. Excluding a $42.7 million after-tax loss on debt extinguishment, the adjusted loss was $18.7 million. Gross margin narrowed to 30.5% from 30.9%.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. reported Tuesday that net income for the quarter ended Aug. 27 plummeted 30% to $177 million from $254 million a year earlier, missing Wall Street expectations.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target announced that it has donated $60,000 to assist with Texas wildfire relief efforts. A $25,000 cash donation was made to the American Red Cross with the additional cash and product donations made to other nonprofit organizations in the Texas area.

Target teams provided 12,000 bottles of water, 3,600 bottles of Gatorade, and 500 boxes of snacks to Bastrop Public Works yard last week, along with donations of clothes, diapers, toiletries and bedding to support wildfire relief efforts, the company reported.

In the month of August, there was an overall 2% decline in pages and 5% decline in inserts per market versus 2010.

Lowes was one of the retailers who slowed promotional activity in 2011, by entirely pulling out two weeks of 2-page inserts and by decreasing their page-per-flyer count by an average of 4 pages.

NEW YORK — The Jones Group announced that Marchon Eyewear will be exclusive provider of ophthalmic eyewear frames and prescription-ready sunglasses for distribution under the Nine West brand.  

Under the agreement, the Nine West ophthalmic eyewear collection will be marketed and sold globally in upscale optical chains and optical specialty retailers and by individual eye care professionals beginning in early January 2012, The Jones Group reported.  

ATLANTA — Canada's importance to the retail industry continues to grow, made evident by the recent news that Office Depot has engaged ShopVisible, a leading provider of on-demand e-commerce, social commerce, and mobile commerce solutions, to launch the retailer’s new Canadian-facing e-commerce site.

HOUSTON — Stage Stores has announced that Mike Searles has joined the company as president and COO of its South Hill division, which is headquartered in South Hill, Va. Searles, who will report to Rich Maloney, EVP and chief merchandising officer, will be responsible for all operations of the South Hill division, including merchandising, planning and allocation, and store operations.

Some priceless publicity to cement Target’s image as the cool place to shop came courtesy of The New York Times this week. The newspaper reported on and featured a video on its website of the retailer’s back-to-college efforts, which included chartering busses to ferry thousands of kids to its stores at 66 campuses nationwide.

PHOENIX, Ariz. — The Global Market Development Center, the trade group for health, beauty, wellness and general merchandise retailers, announced that it has awarded its 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award to Terry Cox, retired group VP at Kroger, at its Health Beauty Wellness Marketing Conference in Phoenix, Ariz.