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July 20, 2012
Info Retail, an Atlanta-based strategy and design agency focusing on the control and simplification of buying experiences, released findings from its recent Retail Integration Survey. The findings revealed that millennials rely on brick-and-mortar stores and technology equally to access information or to gain insights about a product they plan to purchase. Millennials (age 18-35) were twice as likely to use technology to learn about products as consumers over 35 years old.
July 20, 2012
Ikea catalog fans are a pretty finicky bunch. The last time the furniture retailer made what some might consider a slight "tweak" to the 61-year-old tome (after 50 years of use, in 2009 it changed its iconic Futura typeface to the more computer-friendly Verdana), consumers went ballistic. Now, it makes an even more ambitious leap with McCann Erickson's makeover of the 211-million circulation pub. In August, the retailer tapped the agency to revamp the famous printed showroom and yesterday debuted a video introducing "A New Kind of Catalogue."
July 20, 2012
Mark Zuckerberg and his senior management team will spend two days at Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Arkansas home office this week, meeting with executives of the world's largest retailer and discussing ways to "deepen" their relationship. The Facebook team will meet with Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke and his lieutenants on Friday, in the first such meeting between the two corporations’ senior management teams. Zuckerberg and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg will then speak to hundreds of Wal-Mart employees on Saturday at the retailer's monthly meeting.
July 20, 2012
Thus far, the dramatic makeover of J.C. Penney has hardly been smooth sailing. The overhaul, in which coupons and nonstop sales have been replaced with lower everyday prices, has resulted in confusion among consumers and months of subpar sales, as well as the recent ouster of a top executive. Nonetheless, J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson is sticking with the plan to revolutionize a tired old brand — and perhaps retail as a whole. Speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference, Johnson, a retail superstar who spent years building up Target and the Apple Store, made one eye-opening comment after another.
July 20, 2012
INDIANAPOLIS , July 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The LIDS Sports Group retail division has reached an acquisition agreement with JAS Sports Inc., the Seattle -based retailer of officially licensed Washington collegiate and Seattle professional sports team merchandise. The purchase consists of nine brick-and-mortar properties operating under the Seattle Team Shop, The Dawg Den and SODO Sports brands, as well as the mobile concession operations near Safeco Field and Century Link Field. In addition, the purchase consists of multiple online shops which include wazzugear.com, soundersgear.com, thedawgden.com and seattleteams.com. "Throughout our 10 years in operation, JAS Sports has established
July 20, 2012
Last month lululemon athletica opened a store in Durham, N.C. Three weeks later Athleta, Gap's answer to Lululemon, opened in the same mall. The pattern of lululemon opening a store only to see an Athleta shop pop up nearby is happening nationwide as Gap mounts the most potent threat so far to the Vancouver-based yoga powerhouse. Athleta is borrowing from its rivals playbook, then undercutting the chain on price. Like lululemon, Athleta is hooking up with local yoga instructors and sponsoring classes such as Mommy & Me Yoga.
July 20, 2012
eBay announced it is updating the look and feel of MyWorld pages, a place where users can share information about themselves and can promote what they sell on eBay. It will also retire certain features, including "Neighborhoods" and "Guestbooks." eBay had launched MyWorld in 2006 and, like the site MySpace which was popular at the time, it was designed to enable users to "showcase your personality and interests by combining many of the features already available on eBay." MyWorld let users draw from existing features on eBay, such as their feedback profiles and eBay Blogs (yes, eBay let users
July 20, 2012
eBay is rolling out changes to its search algorithm that impact auction sellers and could have a profound affect on the way bidders search. The issue came to EcommerceBytes' attention when a seller noticed a drop in sales last week and said when they called eBay, a customer support rep told them it had started implementing a new Best Match (BM) search algorithm on Friday the 13th, and would complete the process this coming week. "They completely altered the BM ranking for ALL sellers and this change started last week and it is completed by now, which means if
July 20, 2012
New licensing agreement brings Emmy award winning, The West Wing and fan favorite, Fringe to Prime Instant Video, along with other popular TV shows SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 20, 2012-- (NASDAQ: AMZN) – Amazon.com, Inc. today announced a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution to add popular TV shows, including Fringe and The West Wing to the Prime Instant Video catalog. Millions of customers are already enjoying more than 18,000 Prime Instant Videos on Kindle Fire and hundreds of other compatible devices, and this agreement adds a variety of fan-favorite TV shows including Dark Blue, Alcatraz, and The Whole Truth. Both
July 20, 2012
DEERFIELD, Ill. – Walgreen Co. and Express Scripts Inc. (ESI) have signed a multiyear pharmacy network agreement under which the nation’s largest drug chain will rejoin the broadest Express Scripts retail pharmacy network available to new and existing ESI clients. Walgreens decided not to renew its contract with ESI in January, contending that the reimbursement rates offered by the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) were inadequate. During the ensuing six-and-a-half-month standoff Walgreens saw its overall top line, its pharmacy sales and its prescription counts fall. According to the drug chain, about 10% of its pharmacy business, totaling approximately 88 million
