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Progressive Media Group, Inc. (PMG360) announced today the acquisition of the EC-BP.com website and newsletter which will relaunch as Supply Chain Technology News serving more than 80,000 supply chain decision makers. The relaunch will expand the editorial focus beyond EDI. Supply Chain Technology News will encompass the full gamut of supply chain practices and technologies.... Read more »

Canadian Tire posted its second quarter results this week, beating analyst expectations. Revenue rose 2% to $3.4 billion from $3.3 billion last year. The DIY retailer’s shares rose from $2.46 per share to $2.81. April and May results did not help the quarter, mainly due to weather and the effect on seasonal products. However, Canadian... Read more »

Four major department stores reported Q2 results this week. Dillard’s reported net income of $49.2 million for the quarter, compared to $89.5 million in Q1. While that is a significant drop from quarter to quarter, year over year net sales were close, with $1.427 billion this year compared to $1.452 billion in 2016. Comp store... Read more »

The Wall Street Journal announced this week that Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies has reported an expectation of American spending on home improvements this year to top $316 billion. This latest boom in spending is being driven mostly by two groups on opposite ends of the age spectrum: baby boomers and millennials. Increasing... Read more »

Forrester announced retail sales results just as the first half of an NRF/4-5-4/4-4-5 2017 season has come to a close. For most retailers, this week marks the first for the fall season/second half of the 2017 retail year. The news seems abundant about retail stores closings, missed sales targets and retail executives not getting bonuses,... Read more »

Warwick Allen joined Accelerated Analytics at the start of 2017 as the Director of Technology. Warwick has spent 25 years working with technology as a developer, project manager, quality assurance engineer, business analyst, IT manager and technology director. His talents lie in working with small companies to plan and execute their growth through collaboration, processes... Read more »

And job opportunities are booming! Glassdoor published a report on Wednesday that indicated that even as retail stores close, the retail industry is gaining ground in software jobs. It found that the retail industry increased 7.5% to 13.9% of software job postings since 2012. This was the highest industry segment of all, and over information... Read more »

This Thursday, Vera Bradley launches its iconic styles into its first bedding collection. The collection of comforters, quilts, coverlets and pillows will simultaneously launch at select Bed, Bath & Beyond and Bon-Ton stores, on VeraBradley.com and in a pop up at its New York flagship store. Vera Bradley also owns its own stores, and because... Read more »

The International Council of Shopping Centers’ (ICSC) annual “Back-to-School Spending” survey revealed good news for brick and mortar retailers earlier this month. Consumers are in search of the best back-to-school deals and promotions and are hitting their local shopping centers to find them. This year, 89% of consumers will make their back-to-school purchases in local... Read more »