News

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Shopko has promoted Jill Soltau to president. She will retain her position as the retailer’s CMO.

Soltau has more than 25 years of experience in the retail industry and joined Shopko in 2007 as SVP and GMM of apparel and accessories. In 2009, she was promoted to EVP and CMO. Prior to joining Shopko, Soltau held several senior level positions in merchandising, planning and private brand at Sears and Kohl's department stores. She started her career with Carson Pirie Scott in Milwaukee.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has announced former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates as the keynote speaker for the 2013 NACDS Annual Meeting, which will be held April 20 to 23 in Palm Beach, Fla.

By Bruce Jones, Disney Institute

Family Dollar’s annual dividend now exceeds a dollar following a 24% increase on Friday.

The annual payout now totals $1.04 following a decision by the Family Dollar board to elevate the quarterly dividend to 26 cents a share from 21 cents a share. In addition, the board authorized the repurchase of an additional $300 million in stock under an existing program that had only $94 million in authorization remaining.

It’s going to be a long night for employees of the Rockfish digital solutions firm as they conduct a first of its kind event called a "Hackathon," designed to yield rapid innovation.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Multi-channel retailer HSNi will collaborate with Disney to create an exclusive collection of fashions, jewelry, beauty and home accessories based on Walt Disney Studios' film “Oz the Great and Powerful.”

To promote the collection and the film, HSN has developed a marketing campaign that includes a two-day live event viewable across all its platforms: TV, HSN.com and HSN mobile.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Hasbro is bringing the Tetris video game brand into the world of face-to-face gaming.

The Tetris Company, the exclusive licensor of the Tetris brand, has given Hasbro the green light to manufacture and globally market multiple face-to-face games based on the popular video game brand.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Appcelerator, a leading mobile development platform, has Gamiel Gran as VP of business development and Neeraj Gupta as VP of engineering.