Articles By Kara Murphy

  1. 3 Ways Companies Can Protect Against Hackers 1/27/2014

    Experts say attacks on retailers like Neiman Marcus, Target, others will happen again if businesses don’t change their online security systems. More than 130 million customer accounts were compromised when online security systems failed in 2013. While Target and Neiman Marcus were the most high-profile of those illegal intrusions, they were far from the only businesses targeted. Adobe, LivingSocial and Snapchat also suffered breaches in 2013, along with many other businesses whose problems weren’t publicized.

  2. Will Big Data Marketing Practices Change After The Office Max Incident? 1/27/2014

    Office supply retailer’s mailer addressed to “Mike Seay, Daughter Killed in Car Crash” is the latest black eye for big data collection. A mailer with an address reading “Mike Seay, Daughter Killed in Car Crash” is the latest blow to big data marketing in the past month. Last year, Seay’s 17-year-old daughter died in a car wreck in Illinois.

  3. Neiman Marcus Attack Went Undetected For Months 1/24/2014

    A cybercrime firm says at least six retailers in addition to Neiman Marcus were compromised.  The cyberattack on Neiman Marcus’s computer network went undetected for months, with the earliest sign of intrusion having occurring as far back as July, the company said in a call with credit card companies.

  4. Kroger, Harris Teeter to Merge 1/24/2014

    The Federal Trade Commission has approved Kroger’s $2.5 billion acquisition of North Carolina-based Harris Teeter. The sale is expected to be finalized by the end of January. Merging the two profitable grocery chains will create a supermarket company with sales of more than $100 billion annually.

  5. Albertsons To Shutter 26 Stores In 8 States 1/22/2014

    Albertsons, the $23 billion chain store, sheds itself of underperforming stores in time for acquisition of large Texas chain. Albertsons will close 26 of its stores in February. A spokeswoman for the Boise, ID, company told the Supermarket News the affected stores under the Albertsons banner include 11 in California, five in Washington, two in Las Vegas, two in Oregon, one in Albuquerque, NM, and one in  Phoenix, AZ. In addition, two stores under the Acme Markets banner in Pennsylvania will close after their leases expire, and two stores under the Shaw’s banner in Massachusetts will close.

  6. Foot Locker Is Turning The Tide On Showrooming 1/22/2014

    Retailer’s attempts to slow the consumer practice seem to be working as study shows showrooming has dropped 40 percent in one year

  7. Hy-Vee Will Sell Sustainably Sourced Seafood, Fish 1/21/2014

    Hy-Vee is the latest grocer to commit to selling sustainably sourced fresh and frozen seafood and fish to its customers. Sustainable sourcing is defined as fishing that assures seafood will be plentiful for future generations and does no harm to other animals. The employee-owned company worked with FishWise, a non-profit organization focused on supporting sustainability through environmentally responsible business practices, to add a responsible-sourcing commitment to its Seafood Procurement Policy. The new wording commits Hy-Vee to sell seafood that is rated Green or Yellow by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, is certified to an environmental standard equivalent to these ratings, or is sourced from credible, time-bound improvement processes. Hy-Vee plans to meet this goal by the end of 2015.

  8. Dell Workforce Realignment Rumored 1/17/2014

    Dell, the world’s No. 3 supplier of PCs, might soon announce it is trimming its sales workforce by 20 percent or more as it streamlines newly acquired product lines. The company— which went private in 2013 — released a statement that neither confirms or denies the rumored news of impending layoffs: “Dell continuously evaluates and implements opportunities to improve our operational effectiveness and allocate our resources. When necessary, we’ll continue to make tough decisions to help ensure our long-term success — some of these decisions may affect our workforce. We are committed to building upon our multi-channel approach to serving customers — channel, online, and direct — and are investing in sales coverage and training.”

  9. New Labeling System Helps Roundy's Customers Choose Healthy 1/16/2014

    Roundy’s Supermarkets is helping customers choose healthier foods with a new color-coded labeling program called Health Key. The program, which follows USDA and FDA nutritional guidelines, is designed to help the Milwaukee-based grocer’s customers easily find foods that are, for example, organic, vegan, low in sodium, or a good source of fiber. In all, the program identifies 18 healthy attributes, each color coded with shelf tags throughout its stores. The idea is to give shoppers a trustworthy way to find quality foods quickly. That means that even if a product is labeled, for instance, “whole grain” it will only be labeled with a Health Key if it also meets USDA and FDA nutrition guidelines on the amount of things such as saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium it carries.

  10. Hudson's Bay Online Customers Try True Fit On For Size 1/16/2014

    Hudson’s Bay — Canada’s largest department store — is the latest retailer hoping to take the guesswork out of shopping for apparel online through a new partnership with True Fit. Both its Canadian stores, under the banner Hudson’s Bay, and its American stores, under the banner Lord & Taylor offer a True Fit analysis on their websites.