News

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — OfficeMax has launched a new search engine with content and navigation improvements on its OfficeMax WorkplaceSM business-to-business e-commerce site, OfficeMaxWorkplace.com. Since phasing in improvements last month, all aimed to deliver a streamlined online shopping experience, the site has experienced increases in conversion rate, average revenue per visit and positive customer feedback.

El Segundo, Calif. -- Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. reported upticks in net income, sales and same store sales for first quarter fiscal 2013. Net income grew from $156,000 to $7.5 million.
     
Net sales were $246.5 million, up from $218.3 million a year earlier, while same-store sales rose 10.5%. First quarter sales improved despite the negative impact of the calendar shift of the Easter holiday, when the retailer’s stores are closed.
       

E-commerce was labeled Walmart’s next growth engine by Neil Ashe, the retailer’s president and CEO of global e-commerce during an investor presentation Wednesday morning.

By Garrick Brown, research director, Terranomics

Social shopper media firm Collective Bias may have been founded in Walmart’s home town of Bentonville, Ar., but the firm has big plans to help suppliers to Target achieve their social media objectives.

Collective Bias established a presence in Minneapolis last year and more recently tapped Kristen Brown to lead the firm’s growth efforts. Brown spent five years with NPD in the company’s Minneapolis office where she served as retail insights director. She is also a best-selling author and motivational coach.

ATLANTA, Ga. — Red Book Connect, a global service-driven technology solutions company serving the retail, restaurant and hospitality industries, has appointed Larry A. Abramson as its CEO, a previously unfilled position since the formation of the company in January 2013.

Following the second warmest retail May in 2012, this year will trend colder, especially across the Eastern half of the nation. Colder temperatures in the East will cause a dip in year-over-year demand for seasonal products like apparel, sun care, cold beverages, lawn and garden supplies, ice cream and fans/air conditioners. May 2013 is setting up to be a more active month for severe weather than last year with the highest risk periods in early May and again during retail week three. Localized demand for chainsaws and other clean-up products will be needed in the South and Midwest.

During the Spectrum Brands second-quarter earnings call, the Madison, Wis.-based company showed interest in bringing back some offshore production. 

Responding to a question about the rising costs of wages and freight for overseas small appliance manufacturing, Spectrum Brands CEO David Lumley said: “We are looking at that.”

He added that a first opportunity might be for North America manufacturing — Mexico or the Caribbean.