Top Story

• Penney's pens letters to fans in Oscar spots
  J.C. Penney aired six commercials in connection with the Oscars Sunday night, debuting a new campaign called "Yours Truly JCP." The campaign features authentic American images and reminders of Penney's 100-year heritage, alongside new featured brands including Joe Fresh, Levi's and Cosabella. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (2/24), Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (2/24), Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (2/22)     

• J.C. Penney unveils new brands: J.C. Penney will debut Joe Fresh shops in 700 of its department stores starting March 15, along with other new fashion brands for spring and summer including Pearl by Georgina Chapman and L`Amour Nanette Lepore. Retailing Today (2/22)     

Industry Watch

• Safeway shifts more ad dollars from paper
  Safeway spent about $20 million on newspaper ads last year, down from about $33 million in 2010, as more of the retailer's ad budget moved from mainstream media to digital channels, said CEO Steve Burd. "As people become more digital, there's an opportunity, which we're working hard at, [to] actually get out of the paper ads and make the ad itself personalized for every household." Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (2/22)     

• Riggio outlines plan to buy Barnes & Noble
  Barnes & Noble Chairman Leonard Riggio says in a regulatory filing that he aims to buy the company's bookstores and online operations but not unit Nook Media. Riggio is the retailer's largest shareholder, controlling about 30% of common stock. The Wall Street Journal (2/25)     

• Hy-Vee readies another store serving wine and beer
  A Hy-Vee store opening Tuesday in Overland Park, Kan., has a bar that sells wine and beer by the glass and bottle and is attached to a full-service restaurant. It is the second Hy-Vee store with the amenity -- the other is in Urbandale, Iowa -- and the company plans to open more. The Kansas City Star (Mo.) (2/22)     

Retail Trends

• Retailers' results may be spending snapshot
  Retailers from Saks to Macy's to Target are set to start reporting their fourth-quarter results this week, announcements that are likely to offer a snapshot of consumer spending patterns amid rising gas prices and a higher payroll tax. The Wall Street Journal (2/24)     

• Loss prevention efforts start to pay off
  Retailers lost $8.9 billion to shoplifting, shrinkage and other vendor theft during the holidays, according to one study, and 2011's losses totaled about $35 billion, according to NRF data. While still significant, the losses were down $3.5 billion from 2008. "We're seeing more money spent on loss prevention. That's been notching up every year," said NRF's Richard Mellor. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (2/23)     

Main Street

• Getting started on Twitter: Tips for small-business owners
  After choosing a Twitter handle and filling out your bio, you can begin to build your presence on the social network by tweeting content that your followers will care about, writes Álvaro J. Soltero. "[T]he most important resource you can use to build a Twitter community is your knowledge of your target market and how to reach them," he writes. You can gauge your success by tracking the number of clicks your content gets and monitoring the use of your hashtags. Social Media Today/Leaf's SMB Blog (2/24)     

Hot Topics

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

• Office Depot, OfficeMax to merge in $1.17 billion deal (Bloomberg)

• Nordstrom to spend $3.7 billion on growth plan (Women's Wear Daily (subscription required))

• OfficeMax and Office Depot may join forces (The Wall Street Journal)

• Survey: Payroll tax rise leads consumers to tighten belts (Bloomberg Businessweek)

• Best Buy makes price matching permanent (The Wall Street Journal)

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

	Scholarships make BIG dreams real NRF and University of Phoenix's "Dream BIG" scholarship has helped create more inroads for retail employees looking to advance their careers. Current retail employees can submit an application by April 9 for the chance to earn one of 10 full-tuition scholarships toward a retail-related University of Phoenix campus or online program. Find out more.

NRF News

• Nominate the next NRF Loss Prevention Awards winners
  Help NRF honor law enforcement officers, loss prevention professionals and NRF member companies who have gone above and beyond to serve their communities and the retail industry with your nomination for the 2013 Loss Prevention Awards. Honors include the Law Enforcement Retail Partners Award, Loss Prevention Case of the Year, Ring of Excellence Award and LP Volunteers in Action Award. The deadline for submissions is March 29. Learn more.     

• NRF SmartStat: Feb. 25, 2013
  One third of Americans surveyed will dine out less because of recent payroll tax changes. Source: NRF surveyed conducted by BIGinsight.     

• Customers live in an omnichannel world, and so should your business
  Omnichannel retail represents a conceptual and philosophical shift in today’s marketplace and presents an enormous opportunity to create relevant and immersive customer experiences. A new white paper by iProspect in the Shop.org library analyzes both the customer and internal facets retailers need to be aware of to execute an omnichannel strategy. When done right this approach helps companies attract, build and maintain more profitable customer relationships. Download the white paper.     

Chain Restaurant News

• Wendy's to debut new logo this week
  Wendy's new logo will start appearing in ads this week and will roll out on uniforms and food packaging nationwide in the coming months. QSRMagazine.com (2/24)     

Position Title Company Name Location Client Manager 4R Systems, Inc. Berwyn, PA Account Planners MARC USA Pittsburgh, PA Retail Communications Sr. Manager - Sunglass Hut Luxottica Retail Cincinnati, OH Retail Systems Project Manager System One Hershey, PA Senior Brand Manager The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. South Deerfield , MA Category Sales Analyst The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. South Deerfield, MA , MA 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 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 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 Chief Financial Officer Kitchen & Company Wilmington, DE Director of E-Commerce DC & Logistics Francesca's Houston, TX CLIENT SERVICES BUSINESS ANALYST KWI Greenvale, NY

Click here to view more job listings.

SmartQuote

It is wonderful how much news there is when people write every other day; if they wait for a month, there is nothing that seems worth telling." --Anna Masterton Buchan, Scottish writer