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The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) announced that Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and CEO of Target Corp., has been elected to chairman of its board of directors. Steinhafel, who previously served as the board’s vice chairman, succeeds Bill Rhodes, chairman, president and CEO of AutoZone Inc., who had served as chairman since 2010. RILA’s newly elected officers to its board of directors include: Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and CEO of Target Corp. (Chairman) Richard Dreiling, chairman and CEO of Dollar General Corp. (Vice Chairman) Gregory Wasson, president and CEO of Walgreen Co. (Second Vice Chairman) Eric Wiseman, chairman, president

Multichannel retailer Sierra Trading Post announced a streamlined, web-inspired redesign of its six catalog titles, with the first edition hitting mailboxes in March. The redesign comes on the heels of an initiative to improve the look and feel of SierraTradingPost.com.

There were reports last week that new social media site Pinterest hit 10 million unique monthly U.S. visits. Reports for the week of Jan. 16 monitored the site traffic as high as 17 million unique monthly U.S. visits. It's addicting, it's social and it's driving tons of site traffic.

Turnaround CEO Neil Fiske, who took over Bellevue-based Eddie Bauer in 2007 and led it through a bankruptcy court auction in 2009, will soon leave the top post, according to a company statement. No reason was given for his departure.

Video-Commerce.org talked with Zappos.com's Senior Manager of Photo and Video Laurie Me'chelle Gates, who shared some of the tangible, real-world business benefits from Zappos' social video strategy. 

Today's consumers are turning their growing appreciation for gift cards into a public embrace. According to First Data's 2011 U.S. Prepaid Consumer Insights study, the average amount spent per closed-loop card grew in 2011, increasing by more than 23 percent compared to 2010. The average total amount consumers spent on closed loop gift cards increased to $211 from $161 last year.

Lowe's is offering buyouts to corporate staff as the retailer slows store openings, cuts costs and focuses on the digital aspects of its business. The buyout offer, known as a "voluntary separation program," applies to corporate staff members at the company's offices in Mooresville and Wilkesboro, N.C.

Announces Three New Product License Partners Covering Luggage, Watches and Eyewear LEXINGTON, Mass., Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sperry Top-Sider, the leading nautical performance and lifestyle footwear brand and inventor of the world's first boat shoe, continues to build on its market momentum through strategic product category expansion beyond footwear. Today the company said it has signed three additional new license agreements to expand Sperry Top-Sider branded products into the categories of luggage, watches and eyewear. The new product collections will launch in Spring 2013 in the brand's wholly owned Sperry Top-Sider specialty retail stores located

The first key mobile insight every marketer should know is that consumers use their smartphones at many different points in their purchase path. Forty-one percent of those who used their mobile phone to help with shopping said they made a purchase directly on their smartphone; 46 percent said they researched an item on their smartphone then went to a store to make their purchase; and 37 percent said they researched an item on their smartphone then made their purchase online.