Sierra Trading Post

The question isn't if your company will be the victim of a data breach, but when. Those were the sobering words of Martin Einstein, senior partner at Brann & Issacson, a law firm that represents online and multichannel companies, at the American Catalog Mailers Association's (ACMA) Forum last week in Washington, D.C. Einstein addressed the crowd of direct marketers on what they can do to mitigate their risk and exposure to a data breach, as well as how best to respond in the unfortunate event that a breach does occur. 

It's hard to believe we're less than a month away from Thanksgiving. Over the last few years, retailers have opened their stores earlier and earlier on Black Friday in order to cash in on the holiday shopping frenzy. So much so that Black Friday doorbuster sales have crept — uninvited — into our Thanksgiving dinners. Big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart and Toys"R"Us have gone on record as to how opening on Thanksgiving has increased their sales drastically. But honestly, how in the world did 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving turn into the new midnight for Black Friday sales?

When TJX Cos., parent of TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods, announced it would acquire off-price internet retailer Sierra Trading Post for $200 million, it was more than a smart buy. The purchase signified something much bigger: The company was finally taking e-commerce seriously. CEO Carol Meyrowitz declared to investors the company would use Sierra Trading Post's web savvy and infrastructure to build out its own e-commerce sites. 

Cross-channel apparel and accessories retailer Sierra Trading Post invested significant resources last fall into retooling its customer referral program — called Get $10, Give $10 — to create a more user- and social-friendly platform for its customers. The result has been substantial growth in customer acquisition and program revenue.

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.

Sierra Trading Post announced the official launch of its new website after one year of beta testing. To celebrate the launch, the company is hosting an online party and giving away daily prizes such as an iPad2, Kindle or Nook, Nikon camera and thousands of dollars worth of gift cards. The launch celebration runs through Aug. 8.

By now, you're probably sick of hearing about the iPad, right? Unless you're living under a rock, you know that Apple launched its iPad tablet computer on midnight, April 3. The smartphone/laptop computer combo was so popular, I'm sure you read, that Apple sold over 300,000 of them in the U.S. on that day alone. And as of press time, one report says more than 600,000 iPads have been sold. But what does the iPad mean for multichannel retailers?

Like most every other marketer these days, Sierra Trading Post strives to make each interaction with consumers - no matter the channel - a positive one. This includes its e-commerce site, where the discount apparel and home furnishings retailer has recently launched a Q&A tool from PowerReviews, a provider of customer reviews and social commerce solutions, designed to aid perplexed consumers.

Pan American Develop-ment Foundation (PADF): This nonprofit organization that creates public-private partnerships to assist disadvantaged people in Latin America and the Caribbean has launched a print catalog of corporate social responsibility and cause-related marketing opportunities in those regions. The 28-page book provides an overview of PADF projects that are well-suited for private-sector participation.

People On the Move Coldwater Creek: Dennis Pence, who cofounded this multichannel women’s apparel cataloger 23 years ago, retired as CEO on Oct. 30. He’ll retain his role as chairman, however. President/COO Daniel Griesemer was promoted to president/CEO and will serve on the company’s board of directors. Griesemer joined Coldwater Creek six years ago. dELiA*s: The multichannel teen/tween apparel company has named Chris DiChiaro as the divisional merchandise manager of its Alloy division. Prior to joining dELiA*s, DiChiaro spent seven years as the vice president of merch-andising of intimate apparel for Victoria’s Secret Direct. dELiA*s also announced the hiring of Lee Bissonnette as senior director of