Top Story

• Best Buy makes price matching permanent
  Best Buy has decided to bring back a price-matching policy launched during the holidays. Beginning March 3, the retailer will match prices from 19 online competitors and all local bricks-and-mortar rivals year-round, the company says. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (2/16)     

Industry Watch

• 7-Eleven's Amazon partnership drives innovation
  Convenience store chain 7-Eleven landed the third spot on Fast Company's Top 10 list of the world's most innovative retail companies, thanks to a partnership with Amazon that gives online shoppers the option of picking up packages in the store. Nike, Burberry, Sephora and Everlane round out the top five. Fast Company online (2/11), CSP (2/15)     

• Wal-Mart moves forward with D.C. store plans
  Wal-Mart's plans to open four District of Columbia stores last year proved too ambitious, but the retailer now has three stores under construction in the district. Developers are also redrawing plans for two other stores, including one that's slated to sit atop a 65,000-square-foot Burlington Coat Factory store. The Washington Post (2/17)     

• Target to tailor Canada stores to local tastes
  Target already has plenty of fans in Canada who travel to the U.S. to shop at the chain's stores, but it also has plans to cater specifically to Canadians when it opens its first stores north of the border next month. "If we came up to Canada and didn't offer ketchup-flavored potato chips, then we would have looked like we didn't know what we are doing," said Target Canada President Tony Fisher. Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.) (2/15)     

• Other News

• Longtime Seattle fashion retailer Jay Jacobs dies at 101
  American City Business Journals/Seattle (2/15)     

Retail Trends

• Flower shops wilt as online orders blossom
  Revenue at U.S. flower shops fell 22% in the past decade, according to IBISWorld, and more small florists go out of business each year as consumers increasingly turn to online flower shops to order custom bouquets or grab cellophane-wrapped blooms at the supermarket flower counter. Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.)/McClatchy Newspapers (2/16)     

Retail Technology

• Google reportedly prepares bricks-and-mortar presence
  Google's reported plan to open bricks-and-mortar stores this year likely would help the tech giant when it comes to selling Chromebooks and other branded hardware, analysts say. Network World/IDG News Service (2/15)     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by NRF SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• How State of the Union proposals will affect retailers (Retail's BIG Blog)

• Gap sees progress after investing in fashion, supply chain (The Wall Street Journal)

• Toys R Us CEO to step down, stay on as chairman (Reuters)

• The rise of Roundy's CEO Bob Mariano (Chicago Tribune (tiered subscription model))

• Limited CEO to take the helm at Lane Bryant (Internet Retailer)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

NRF News

• How Coca-Cola creates shared value with retailers
  In a keynote session at Retail's BIG Show in New York last month, executives from Coca-Cola, HSN, and Walgreens explained how their partnerships go beyond just generating sales by creating memorable experiences and a smile or two along the way. Read more.     

• NRF SmartStat: Feb. 18, 2013
  The average sales growth for the online retailers surveyed was 28% in 2012 over 2011. Source: 2013 Shop.org State of Retailing Online Report.     

• Best practices to protect brands and consumers from counterfeiters
  E-commerce has enabled retailers to do business on a global scale, but in turn has moved the business of counterfeits from the street corner to the digital world. A study by MarkMonitor analyzed the relationship between online shoppers, the search terms they use and the sites they visit when seeking apparel and luxury goods. This white paper in the Shop.org library underscores the need for companies at all price points to implement proactive brand protection strategies in the online marketplace. Download the white paper.     

Chain Restaurant News

• Burger King pledges to emphasize value menu in advertising
  Burger King called business conditions for the first quarter "modestly negative" and vowed to become "more aggressive on value" with advertising pushing lower-priced menu items. Burger King ended 2012 with annual revenue down 16% to $1.97 billion, after pursuing a "barbell" strategy of low-end and high-end items. But Barclays Capital analyst Jeffrey Bernstein sees a better future nonetheless, characterizing BK's business as "favorable, with positives more than offsetting negatives. We believe the brand is in the early stages of a turnaround." The Miami Herald (free registration) (2/15), The Wall Street Journal/Corporate Intelligence blog (2/15)     

	Do your employees "Dream BIG"? Then it's time to share the news of a partnership between NRF and the University of Phoenix. The "Dream BIG" program will award 10 full-tuition scholarships to current retail employees looking to advance their careers with a retail-related degree while still having the flexibility to work and live at home. Learn more.

Position Title Company Name Location Corporate Recruiter- Merchandising Burlington Coat Factory Burlington, NJ Vice President of Retail, Parks & Resorts Delaware North Companies Buffalo, NY VP of Merchandising University Co-operative Society Austin, TX Director Internal Audit Ulta Beauty Bolingbrook, IL Director, E-Commerce Marketing The Yankee Candle Company South Deerfield , MA Online Marketing Manager The Yankee Candle Company South Deerfield , MA Social & Mobile Marketing Manager The Yankee Candle Company South Deerfield , MA Director of eCommerce Belk Charlotte, NC Sr. Business Systems Analyst - eCommerce Belk Charlotte, NC Sr. Systems Analyst - eCommerce Belk Charlotte, NC Delivery Manager - Master Data & Merchandising Systems Support Belk Charlotte, NC Delivery Manager - CRM Belk Charlotte, NC Replenishment Manager REI Kent, WA WW Director Digital Strategy & Platforms Johnson & Johnson Multiple Locations, United States Director of E-Commerce Kitchen & Company Wilmington, DE Senior Strategic Planner TracyLocke Wilton, CT Director Loyalty Marketing REI Kent, WA Human Resources Director Saks Fifth Avenue San Francisco, CA Chief Financial Officer Kitchen & Company Wilmington, DE Trade Compliance Manager West Marine Watsonville, CA Director of E-Commerce DC & Logistics Francesca's Houston, TX CLIENT SERVICES BUSINESS ANALYST KWI Greenvale, NY Assistant Implementation Manager KWI Greenvale, NY Planner STEIN MART Jacksonville, FL eCommerce Systems and Operations Lead STEIN MART Jacksonville, FL

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SmartQuote

You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration." --James Allen, British author