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San Antonio — The Progressive Retailers Organization was at the Westin La Cantera Hill Coun
Englewood Cliffs, N.J. — LG Electronics has no plans to open stand-alone showrooms or in-store shops in the U.S.
Despite a reported rollout of additional company stores overseas, and Samsung’s plans to open branded shops within Best Buy locations, LG has no plans to open or operate its own retail outlets, LG Electronics USA communications and public affairs VP John Taylor confirmed to TWICE in an email.
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New York — The planned merger of office-supply chains OfficeMax and Office Depot remains on schedule, with the two retailers filing federal regulatory forms and forming transition committees.
In a joint update, the companies said they still expect the merger to close by year’s end, the original target date.
King of Prussia, Pa. — Microsoft is rolling out five more mini stores this month.
The corporate boutiques, which the software maker has variously described as “pop-up” and “specialty” stores, feature a curated selection of Microsoft products, including Surface PCs, Windows smartphones and Xbox gaming systems.
The latest locations will bring the number of mini stores to 33 nationwide.
Chester Springs, Pa. — Azione Unlimited (AU), the buying and educational group for integrators and custom retailers, added 14 dealer members to its ranks during the first quarter.
The new additions, described as high-end integrators, bring AU’s total dealer member count to 67.
AU president Richard Glikes attributed the young group’s growth to a focused and installer-friendly vendor lineup, free conferences and educational interaction, and a dues structure that delivers the best value.
Anaheim, Calif. – BrandSource today announced a new division dedicated to outdoor furniture and appliances.
Called OutdoorSource, the division will make available to BrandSource members products ranging from barbecues to generators to patio furniture. While BrandSource already carries a wide range of outdoor products the creation of OutdoorSource formalizes the category for the buying group.
OutdoorSource will operate under John White, BrandSource ‘s executive vice president, appliances and is now ready to accept retailer orders.
Grapevine, Texas — GameStop expanded its mobile-device trade-in program to accept smartphones and tablets made by a greater number of suppliers, including Samsung, Motorola and BlackBerry.
Under the trade-in program, stores accept tablets from Acer, Amazon, Asus, Apple, Samsung, Sony, Microsoft (Surface RT), Motorola and Toshiba. The stores accept phones from BlackBerry, HTC, Apple, LG, Motorola and Samsung. Apple media players are also accepted.
Consumers receive instant cash or in-store credit for their trade-ins.
UPDATED! Richfield, Minn. — Samsung will leverage the traffic in Best Buy stores by rolling out dedicated boutiques for its cellphones, tablets, laptops, cameras and accessories.
By early May, 900 Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile specialty stores will feature the Samsung Experience Shop, with the remainder launching by early summer, Best Buy announced.
The shops enable consumers to interact with and buy Samsung’s mobile products “and experience how the devices connect together to enrich their lives,” the retailer said.
San Antonio — Members and vendors of the Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) were urged to leverage their collective capabilities in a “creative collaboration” at the buying group’s annual spring meeting here this week.
The Woodlands, Texas — Conn's reported major revenue gains for its fiscal fourth quarter and year, and posted net income gains for both periods, ended Jan. 31.
In its fiscal fourth quarter, consolidated revenues grew 10.4 percent from the prior-year period to $250.3 million. Net income for the quarter was $17.7 million, up from the prior year’s $7.7 million.
Same-store sales increased 7 percent year over year, on top of same-store sales growth of 12.1 percent last year, Conn’s reported.
Ridgeland, Miss. — Cowboy Maloney’s Electric City is opening a 12th location in a former Viking Cooking School here.
The Mississippi-based A/V, majap and bedding chain will convert the former Viking Range cooking classroom into a new-format showroom for white-goods dubbed Cowboy’s Kitchens.
The independent dealer said it will bring additional brands to the location and will maintain the live cooking areas, which will be made available for special events.
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