News

NEW YORK — Kroger has selected Oracle’s Agile Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) for Process to establish a platform for continually improving the customer experience. The supermarket operator will use the solution to integrate and streamline all aspects of product development, including managing specifications, suppliers, formulations, packaging and labeling, compliance, and quality.

New York City -- The Talbots said on Tuesday that its board of directors has adopted a shareholder rights plan -- or a poison pill -- to protect its stockholders after a private equity firm disclosed it had acquired a sizeable stake in the company.

On Monday, Sycamore Partners LP revealed it had acquired a 9.9% stake in Talbots and said it planned to attempt to talk with the retailer about strategy and operations.

Reports put Talbots’ market value at $288 million, and suggest a buyout would exceed $400 million.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings announced that Edgar Huber has joined the company as CEO and president of Lands' End.  Huber is responsible for driving growth and profit opportunities for Lands' End, as well as continuing to drive the culture that provides customers with the quality, value and service that the brand has long been known for.  He was most recently EVP global business development for Liz Claiborne Inc.

NEW YORK — Discount stores will continue to dominate as the destination for the majority of consumers’ back-to-school dollars this year, with office supply stores also remaining strong, according to a survey by Accenture on parents’ back-to-school shopping plans. The majority of parents (59%) will spend between $100 and $500 on back-to-school shopping this year, with 21% of consumers saying they plan to spend more than $500 this year. That’s down from 28% in 2010, indicating a decline in spending on the big ticket items for school.

NEW YORK  — The end of Borders as we know it may be drawing near. According to court papers filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Borders Group is planning to auction off its intellectual property, including the Borders brand name and the Borders.com website, in a move that will enable the brand to live on after liquidation in a limited fashion.

The Sept. 14 auction, which will sell off the logo, trademarks, website, customer lists and other intellectual property, is expected to draw millions of dollars worth of offers.

Markham, Ontario -- Maple Lake Ltd. said that Aerosoles has selected Maple Lake’s QuickAssortment software to refine and centralize the retailers’ merchandise, store and assortment planning activities. The retailer has already completed Phase I of the implementation process.

New York City -- Publix Super Markets said its second-quarter net income rose 9.7%, to $382.4 million.

Total sales increased 5.8%, to $6.6 billion. Same-store sales rose 4.2%.
 

The big relaunch of Target’s digital platform isn’t due until later this fall, but that didn’t deter the company from offering plenty of ways to interact electronically with the brand for back-to-school.