OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Dallas -- J.C. Penney Co. will host a two-part launch event where senior management will outline its much-anticipated plan of transformation on the mornings of Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 in New York City.

Washington, D.C. -- Applied Predictive Technologies announced that AutoZone has signed an agreement to license APT's Test & Learn Management System to assist in evaluating strategic initiatives across all major functional areas.

AutoZone chose to license the system after piloting the software to test the value of various initiatives in marketing, merchandising, pricing, store operations, loss prevention, store development, and programs targeting commercial business customers.

New York City -- Ahold USA, the U.S. division of Amsterdam-based Ahold, has selected the NCR Advanced Marketing Solution from NCR Corp. to manage offers and promotions to customers. The solution is designed to allow retailers to streamline the management of multichannel promotion delivery by eliminating systems and business processes, while also reducing operations and IT support requirements.

New York City -- The National Retail Federation said Wednesday that it has named five additional retail executives to its board of directors. Each new member, announced during NRF’s101st Annual Convention and Expo in New York, will serve a three-year term.

Bensalem, Pa. -- Charming Shoppes announced that Elizabeth Crystal has joined Lane Bryant as senior VP/CMO.

Crystal will develop and lead the brand positioning, marketing, and advertising strategies for the Lane Bryant and Cacique brands. She was most recently the senior VP, worldwide marketing for Revlon and Almay Color Cosmetics.
 

Beverly, Mass. -- Fantastic Sams Hair Salons said Wednesday that it has been acquired by salon owner Dessange International.

Fantastic Sams operates 1,200 company-owned and franchised salons in 46 states, and Dessange operates salons and beauty institutes in 45 countries. The acquisition of Fantastic Sams doubles Dessange’s hair salon network to over 2,000 salons, of which 1,500 are located outside of France.

New York City -- Retailers need to respond to technology-savvy consumers by creating digitally rich, easy-to-use, technology-based experiences in the store to expand basket size and increase margins, according to the results of a new survey by Cisco. The survey also found that cross-channel shopping behavior is prevalent and desired by most consumers, with nearly 74% of all respondents conducting online research before making in-store purchasing decisions.

Plano, Texas -- J. C. Penney Co. has tapped another former Apple executive to join its executive ranks. J. C. Penney announced that Kristen E. Blum has been named executive VP and chief technology officer, effective Jan. 23. She reports to COO Mike Kramer, and has responsibility for the company's jcp.com business and information technology systems.