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Francis Blake, 65, joins the Proctor & Gamble Co. board of directors, effective immediately. This announcement comes just a few days after his retirement as chairman of Home Depot. He stepped down from the CEO position in November. Blake’s extensive retail experience joins Macy’s Inc. CEO Terry Lundgren on the board. Prior to Home Depot,... Read more »

PwC’s annual global consumer survey of about 1,000 US respondents list Amazon as most favorite retailer with 52% of the vote. Amazon was followed by Walmart with 41% and Target 29%. These retailers were followed by several department stores. Kohl’s was rated the highest of the department stores with 14% of the vote. Other department... Read more »

Dillard’s offered for sale a special edition of the Southern Living Christmas Cookbook to benefit RMHC, allowing them to donate more than $900,000. This was the seventh year in a row that Dillard’s has sold the exclusive cookbook for this cause. “The contributions made by Dillard’s and Dillard’s customers through the purchase of the Southern... Read more »

Retail sales in the US shrank 0.9 percent in December. It is the biggest drop since January as demand fell for nine of thirteen major retail categories: Electronic and Appliance stores, making up 2% of retailers, fell -1.6% Clothing retailers, making up 5% of retailers, fell -0.3% Online stores, making up 9.2% of retailers, fell... Read more »

In an effort to better compete with online and big-box office supply retailers, Staples agreed to buy rival Office Depot in a $6.3 billion cash and stock deal. Staples said it started discussion with Office Depot in September, and the deal is expected to close by the end of 2015. Amazon.com and Walmart have eaten... Read more »

Walmart COO Judith McKenna met with more than 400 suppliers last Friday to discuss her priorities for the retailer’s domestic business. The event was held at the Sam’s Club home office, the day after Walmart opened 33 Neighborhood Markets. Key takeaways were simplification, best practice sharing, supply chain opportunities and small format growth.  McKenna mentioned... Read more »

January 30, 2015 The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis today reported 2.6 percent annualized growth in real Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter of 2014, which is a little below consensus, but closer to the long-term trend growth rate of the economy.  The long-term trend is about 2.0 percent. The resiliency of consumer spending... Read more »

January 22, 2015 184 Million Americans To Watch 2015 Super Bowl, According To NRF Survey The most widely watched sporting event of the year will draw an estimated 184 million viewers, for Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, February 1.  Average viewer spending will reach a survey high of $77.88, up from $68.27 last year, with... Read more »

Lowe’s Canada announced plans to hire 2,000 seasonal employees at its existing 37 Canadian stores for the Spring and Summer season. The company will hold its first ever Canadian National Hiring Day on March 7 at all of their stores. Lowe’s previously announced it will be opening 25 new stores in Canada over the next... Read more »