News

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu has named Bill Parker as the interim president of Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy, a 43- store division in the Virginia Beach/Norfolk, Va. market. Parker, Farm Fresh's current SVP merchandising, will replace Gaelo de la Fuente who became the company’s president in April 2010 and is leaving the company to pursue other interests. Parker will assume the new role on Sept. 15.

NEW YORK — Brown Shoe Company has acquired the Sam & Libby brand and reunited it with its founders, Sam and Libby Edelman. For the last eight years, the brand was owned by The Jones Group.

Retailers and suppliers efforts to conduct commerce more efficiently are poised to benefit from the merger of two of the nation’s leading supply chain standards-setting groups.

Washington, D.C. -- Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 8.5% in September compared with the same month last year, and strong increases are expected into the holiday season despite talk of a possible strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Shopko has expanded its line of private brand consumable products with the introduction of approximately 70 new items.  The new products are available in stores now and include primarily health and beauty products and cleaning products.

NEW YORK — Macy's is paying homage to the TV sitcom with its new, "What's in Store?" campaign.

The campaign, which debuted on Sept. 10, will consist of a series of comedic shorts featuring new Macy’s Herald Square store manager, Harold, as he collides with the many stars and wacky situations that make the “World’s Largest Store” a haven for the fun and fashionable.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Finish Line has named Scott Hoffman as EVP, chief merchandising officer.

AT&T’s new flagship, on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, is designed to immerse customers in everything AT&T. The 10,000-sq.-ft. store, at 600 N. Michigan Ave., also offers shoppers a peak into the future, with the first-ever retail demonstrations of the company’s new digital home security and automation services. It also features a connected car (a 2012 Nissan Leaf) that is used to demonstrate how wireless technology can help driving.