Business
SpartanNash Invests in Higher Education with Launch of Our Family Scholarship Program
Late last week SpartanNash announced its new Our Family 2023 Scholarship Program to support students making a positive difference in their communities. Developed in 1904, Our Family is the retailer's flagship Retail-owned Brand. Fans of the brand who live in one of the states the company serves are eligible to apply for a financial award for undergraduate, graduate, or vocational education. "Rooted in the neighborhoods we serve, we are proud to recognize student leaders who are inspiring community engagement through volunteering or other acts of kindness," said SpartanNash Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Amy McClellan. "Supporting students in
Steel Sharpens Steel – Meet Luke Rauch, Walgreens Chief Merchandising Officer
Luke Rauch was 19 years old and putting in another eight-hour graveyard shift in a steel mill, swinging a sledgehammer in sweltering temperatures to pound molten metal. It wasn’t a typical—or easy—job for a college student on summer break, but for Rauch it was a life-changing one because the steel ended up shaping him as much as he shaped the steel. Fast forward 25 years and Rauch no longer hammers steel. Now, he is senior vice president and chief merchandising officer at Walgreens in charge of the retailer’s merchandising strategy. The lessons learned during that long, hot summer at the
John Lewis supercharges kids fashion plans
UK retaielr John Lewis has announced an expansion of its children’s fashion business, as it looks to significantly grow its share of the UK market. Their new collection features over 2,100 more lines, including theirfirst ever Retailer-owned Brand (private brand) ‘tween’ collection for 7-12 years olds, alongside 10 new fashion brands for Spring 23. According to Mintel, the kids’ clothing market will be worth £7.3bn by 2027 - up from £6.8bn in 2022. While John Lewis currently holds a 16% share of the UK nursery market - selling one in three (34%) of all strollers in the UK -
Loblaw Appoints New President & CEO Per Bank
George Weston Limited and Loblaw Companies Limited jointly announced this week the appointment of Mr. Per Bank as President and Chief Executive Officer of Loblaw. Mr. Bank will formally join the company by Q1 2024. The appointment follows a global talent search initiated in August 2022 in anticipation of Robert Sawyer’s planned retirement as Loblaw’s Chief Operating Officer at the end of 2023. It comes after two years of superb performance at the retailer. “Over the past two years, we have strengthened the foundations of the company. Our management team is exceptional, and our 220,000 colleagues continue to deliver for
Macy’s to Completely Reinvent Private Brand
On March 30 Macy's presented at the J.P. Morgan 9th Annual Retail Round-Up Conference. Presenters included Jeff Gennette, Chief Executive Officer and Adrian Mitchell - Chief Financial Officer. Gennette detailed the important role that Retail-owned Brands (private brands) would play in the future of Macy’s. The entire Macy’s Retail-owned Brand portfolio (24 brands) is being evaluated to optimize and redefine the brands for the future. All the brands will be assessed and potentially refreshed, redefined, or eliminated. Macy’s spent months evaluating each brand in the portfolio, many of them legacy brands from Federated Stores and other acquisitions. The updated Retail-owned
Weis Markets Promotes Alison Gregas to Director of Private Brands
Weis Markets has announced the recent promotion of Alison Gregas to director of private brands. In this position, she is responsible for new product development and the day-to-day management of the company’s 6,500-item Retail-owned Brand (private brand) range, including its Weis Quality, Weis By Nature and Weis Organics brands. Ms. Gregas began working with Weis Markets as a business manager for Daymon Worldwide, the company’s in-house private brands brokerage company. She came to work for Weis Markets in 2020 as a private brands sourcing specialist and was promoted to private brands manager, the position she held before her promotion.
IRI and NPD Rebrand as Circana
Following their merger in August 2022, Information Resources, Inc. ("IRI") and The NPD Group ("NPD") today unveiled a new combined company name and brand identity: Circana.“We are proud to begin this new chapter together as Circana, a name that conveys our 360-degree, full-circle understanding of the consumer and market, and our unique ability to bring clients a complete view of the consumer, store and wallet,” said Kirk Perry, president and chief executive officer, Circana (formerly IRI and NPD). “In today’s dynamic global retail and media environment, our value proposition has never been stronger. Circana is undeniably best positioned to
Topco to Host Product Solutions Summit
Topco Associates, LLC., announced this week that it would host the Topco Product Solutions Summit to diversify the cooperative’s supplier pool, discover new and innovative items, and establish additional supplier partnerships to assist the organization with aggregation, innovation, and knowledge management solutions that span Topco’s Center Store program. Topco is seeking suppliers to help expand its supplier partnership portfolio and sourcing capabilities to provide member-owners with a more expansive assortment of products and offerings. This includes identifying new, regional and/or certified diverse suppliers that also align with macrotrends the industry is currently leveraging such as changing economics, food as medicine
Walmart EVP of Global Sourcing Andrea Albright helps people Grow
Take a few moments and read this great profile of Andrea Albright Executive Vice President of Sourcing for Walmart by April Wallace writer at the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Andrea is bright, curious, engaged and engaging," says Judith McKenna, CEO of Walmart International. "In a short time, she has learned the business, built global relationships and created a high degree of trust and transparency. What I really love, though, is her focus on people. She's motivated by developing and growing others, and that shines through, not just for her part of the organization but much more broadly." Read the entire
Dick’s Sporting Goods To Buy Moosejaw From Walmart
DICK'S Sporting Goods announced last week that it has agreed to acquire outdoor retailer Moosejaw from Walmart. The acquisition will expand DICK'S outdoor Retailer-owned Brand portfolio – which currently includes its specialty retailer, Public Lands. Moosejaw, founded in Michigan in 1992, operates a highly successful e-commerce platform, has a loyal customer base, strong vendor relationships with leading outdoor brands and a passionate workforce. Moosejaw also operates brick-and-mortar locations in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan and Missouri. "We admire what Moosejaw has accomplished over the past 30 years as leaders in the outdoor industry and look forward to the opportunity to
