Multichannel Retail & Ecommerce

Design Within Reach seeks NASDAQ delisting

Chantal Todé June 26, 2009

Multichannel home furnishings merchant Design Within Reach Inc. has notified the NASDAQ Stock Market of its intent to voluntarily delist its common stock from NASDAQ. While the company reports that it has not received a formal notice from NASDAQ that it has failed to comply with listing standards, Design Within Reach said in a statement that it has struggled to maintain compliance with NASDAQ's minimum required bid price of $1 per share.
 

JC Penney chief merchandising officer Ken Hicks leaves for Foot Locker

Chantal Todé June 25, 2009

Ken Hicks is leaving his position as president and chief merchandising officer at JC Penney Co. Inc. to become president and CEO at specialty retailer Foot Locker Inc. JC Penney said Hicks, who has held his position there since 2005, will serve his last day on July 6. Myron Ullman, chairman and CEO, will assume Hicks' responsibilities while an executive search is being conducted. Hicks will also resign his position on the JC Penney board of directors.
 

Dress Barn, Tween Brands to merge

Chantal Todé June 25, 2009

Dress Barn Inc. and Tween Brands Inc. have entered into a definitive merger agreement. In the stock-for-stock transaction, a subsidiary of Dress Barn will merge with Tween Brands. Each share of the latter's common stock will be exchanged for 0.47 shares of Dress Barn common stock, representing an equity value of approximately $157 million based on June 24 closing stock prices for both companies. Upon closing of the transaction, Tween Brands stockholders are expected to own approximately 16% of Dress Barn.
 

Digital River introduces platform for clearance merchandise

Chantal Todé June 24, 2009

Digital River Inc. has introduced a new e-commerce platform designed to optimize the online sales of limited-edition and clearance merchandise for manufacturers. "Companies are looking for additional sources of revenue," said Matt Voda, group VP and product manager at Digital River. As a result, the traditional scenario that saw manufacturers liquidating left over inventory through a third-party isn't as appealing as it once was.
 

Pending tax challenges Amazon Associates program in North Carolina

Carol Krol June 23, 2009

Amazon.com has taken a firm stand against pending state-level tax collection legislation. On June 18, the e-commerce giant reached out to North Carolina-based Amazon Associates to warn them that it might have to end relationships with associates located in North Carolina because of pending state-level tax collection legislation.
 

Playboy.com sues e-commerce solutions provider eFashion

Chantal Todé June 23, 2009

Playboy.com Inc. has filed a lawsuit against e-commerce and catalog service provider eFashion Solutions LLC, in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claiming breach of contract. Playboy claims eFashion's moves will irreparably harm the company and force it to shut down its e-commerce and catalog businesses. These businesses generated nearly $17 million in annual revenue before eFashion took them over and have been reduced to approximately $4 million to $5 million under eFashion's operations, according to Playboy's filing.
 

E-mail: The superhighway to multichannel sales

Craig Kerr, vice president of marketing, iPost June 22, 2009

A multichannel customer is worth more to a brand than a single channel customer. Multichannel sales offer an opportunity to create a mutually beneficial relationship with customers, where they can use each channel as appropriate for them and the company can optimize its bottom line. The key is to understand behavior and what model makes the most sense for both parties.
 

Optimize customer interactions in a downturn

Mark Nagaitis, CEO, 7 Billion People June 22, 2009

It's pretty bleak out there, and some are predicting that the economy will get worse before it gets better. In this sort of environment, e-commerce marketers need to take a look at the ROI of their outbound marketing, and how effective their Web site is at converting customers coming to the site. Traffic generation spend is wasted if that traffic does not convert, and average conversion rates hovering at 3% or so seem to indicate that the selling conversation that we are having with our customers leaves something to be desired.
 

Jay Berlin appointed CEO of The Sportsman's Guide

Chantal Todé June 22, 2009

Multichannel merchant Redcats USA has appointed Jay Berlin as CEO of catalog and Internet brand The Sportsman's Guide. Berlin previously held marketing management roles with Fingerhut and C.O.M.B. Corp., and was SVP of catalog and e-commerce business lines for Northern Tool & Equipment.
 

Eddie Bauer to reorganize; Spiegel finds a buyer

Chantal Todé June 18, 2009

Retailers Spiegel Brands and Eddie Bauer, which each faced financial difficulties several years ago when they were under the same ownership, are in the news again this week with financial troubles and new suitors. Private equity firm Patriarch Partners LLC has acquired substantially all the operating assets of Spiegel Brands Inc. through a newly formed company called Signature Styles LLC.
 

Appozite launches CheapTweet Stores

Nathan Golia June 18, 2009

Social and e-commerce service provider Appozite has launched CheapTweet Stores, an extension of the company's existing CheapTweet service. DealTaker.com, Overstock.com and VacationRentals.com are partners in the initial launch of the platform, which aggregates Tweets with promotional offers under a company-specific header.
 

Golfballs.com debuts social e-mail campaign

Dianna Dilworth June 18, 2009

E-commerce firm Golfballs.com has found that social media and e-mail marketing go hand-in-hand, and is using both in its latest version of the "Coolest pair on the planet" campaign.
 

Sur La Table looks to database, e-marketing for growth

Lauren Bell June 17, 2009

Kitchenware retailer Sur La Table has chosen Pluris Marketing to build the store's new marketing database and assist with data integration and analytics. Pluris will help the multichannel kitchen store with data integration and analytics on customer information gleaned from search, e-mail, catalog, e-commerce, mobile and social media.
 

DMA launches committee around future of multichannel marketing

Carol Krol June 16, 2009

The Direct Marketing Association on Wednesday announced it has launched the iDirect Leadership Committee to provide thought leadership to the industry regarding data-enriched multichannel marketing. That will include driving new educational programs and conducting and publishing research around the fusion of traditional direct marketing with data, analytics and online programs.
 

Multichannel momentum

Chantal Todé June 15, 2009

The economic environment is still stormy, but retailers are starting
to test the waters with new demand-generating strategies.
 

10 tips: Integrating multichannel data

Sharon Goldman June 15, 2009

In this tight economy, retailers are trying every way they can think of to reach out to customers: Web sites, catalogs, in-store promotions and even mobile messaging. Once all these channels get up and running, however, keeping track of customer data can get difficult. Here are 10 tips for integrating your multichannel data.
 

5 must-haves for your e-commerce site

Sharon Goldman June 15, 2009

As Web sales gain importance for nearly every multichannel retailer, making sure your site is competitive with today's best e-commerce offerings is essential. Whether you're just getting started in e-commerce or your site needs freshening up, there are some basic must-haves, says Scott Todaro, senior director of product strategy at Demandware:
 

Should retailers consider getting into mobile commerce?

Bill Mirabito, Founder, B2C Partners June 15, 2009

With a difficult economy, retailers must 
do more with less. Mobile commerce is gaining attention, but the challenges are significant. So retailers want to know: "Are consumers ready for mobile commerce; and if so, where should we begin?"
 

Creative solutions from Shawan Downs, Gerber, Kodak

June 15, 2009

Hear what Julie Petroski, VP, group creative director at Targetbase, thinks of Shawan Downs' promotional effort for its Steeplechase, Gerber's "Start healthy, stay healthy pledge" campaign, and Kodak's "ScanMate/What's in your inbox?" campaign.
 

As they evolve, e-books and their readers are potential bestsellers

Chantal Todé June 15, 2009

E-books still represent a small percentage of overall online book sales. But this could soon change, thanks to several recent and upcoming developments in this category. In a new report, How Big Is the Reader Opportunity, Forrester Research forecasts that the US market for e-readers will rise from 1 million to 2 million users in 2009.
 

Eco-PSAs reach out to tweens nationwide

Lauren Bell June 12, 2009

The US Forest Service debuted its nationwide Discover the Forest campaign on June 13, the second annual National Get Outdoors Day through a partnership with the Ad Council and Euro RSCG.
 

Duluth Trading taps Donnelley Marketing

Lauren Bell June 11, 2009

Donnelley Marketing, a division of InfoGroup, has won list processing duties for multichannel retailer Duluth Trading Company. Duluth Trading Co., which sells workwear, tools, games and other "tradesmen" goods, chose Donnelley from a group of five serious contenders to handle its list rental fulfillment and all acquisition mailings, as well as house file hygiene and merge/purge duties.
 

BT providers punch up data capabilities with new platform

Lauren Bell June 10, 2009

AudienceScience is one of the first behavioral targeting companies to start using CoreMetrics' new AdTarget platform. AdTarget syndicates data about Web site visitors across ad networks and products. The information is then integrated into the behavioral targeting platforms of ad serving companies like AudienceScience, allowing them to create personalized display ads in real time for online consumers.
 

Turbocharge your b-to-b lead gen programs

June 10, 2009

Today's marketers are being asked to do more with less. In the b-to-b space, it can become a daunting task to get your message in front of the right person inside an organization. This webinar will provide you with strategies on how to make the most of your lead generation programs and increase campaign effectiveness by identifying the right leads and working with sales for a more-meaningful, cohesive follow-up.
 

Simpro introduces IVR platform for DRTV

Nathan Golia June 09, 2009

Simpro Solutions Inc., a Toronto-based provider of call center and CRM services, has launched an automated interactive voice response (IVR) portal for DRTV. Key features of the tool include automated call distribution and call answering, real-time customer order, billing and fulfillment.
 

HeyButler.com selects Knotice for e-mail

Dianna Dilworth June 09, 2009

HeyButler.com, a search engine specializing in retail discounts, has selected e-mail marketing services firm Knotice to run its e-mail marketing.
 

EthanAllen.com by Organic

June 08, 2009

Organic brought Ethan Allen's tradition of pairing customers with designers into the digital space with an interactive design board and one-to-one sharing capabilities.
 

Golden Gate to acquire J. Jill from Talbots

Chantal Todé June 08, 2009

The Talbots Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to sell substantially of the J. Jill brand assets to an affiliate of private equity investment firm Golden Gate Capital for approximately $75 million. Jill Acquisition LLC, the Golden Gate affiliate, will assume the leases for 204 of the 279 J. Jill brand stores, which it will continue to operate. Talbots will retain the remaining 75 store leases and is expected to close these stores within the next 60 days.
 

Top Tips: Make alternative payments work for your e-commerce site

Sharon Goldman June 08, 2009

With the new credit card bill potentially making plastic an option for fewer people — including those under age 21 and those without good credit — e-commerce retailers are offering more alternative payment methods, which are becoming more and more attractive when shopping online. So what should marketers keep in mind when it comes to choosing and promoting alternative payment methods? Bala Janakiraman, principal product manager, Litle & Co., shares his top tips.
 

Summer Sale starts July 1 for eligible mailers

Cara Wood June 05, 2009

The Postal Regulatory Commission unanimously approved the US Postal Service's summer sale, formally known as the Standard Mail Volume Incentive Pricing Program, on June 4.
 

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