Target

Ron Johnson, top retail executive for Apple, is leaving the company in order to fill the role vacated by Myron E. Ullman III, chief executive of J.C. Penney. The switch will occur on November 1, at which time Johnson will leave the company whose retail strategy he spearheaded.

Target is raising awareness for its new fresh food offerings by running mobile banner and audio ads across Pandora's platforms. Pandora offers popular mobile applications, with the audience skewing toward younger consumers. Target's mobile ad is targeting Pandora users who are not regular Target shoppers to try to encourage them to buy its new fresh food offerings.

I often check the clickthough rates of our daily e-newsletter of aggregated and orignal content, ROI Report, to gauge what our audience of cross-channel retailers are interested in and concerned about. Lately, the clickthrough rates for articles about hackers and scammers targeting retailers and shoppers are through the roof

Target plans to spend more than it had forecast this year on its entry into the Canadian market as it nails down more of the best retail locations sooner than expected. The retailer said it will be able to “clarify” within weeks the number and locations of the first 100 to 150 stores it will open in Canada.

Best Buy is expanding its 257-store Shopkick pilot to a nationwide endeavor. Patrons who have the mobile app open whenever they walk into one of the retailer's locations will earn reward points for items like gift cards, song downloads and flat-screen TVs.

Target Corp. is setting up three distribution centers in Canada in preparation for its debut north of the border, according to a report in The Globe and Mail. Although the retailer could have supplied the stores from its U.S. warehouses, it chose to set up a network specifically for its Canadian operations, the report said, with DCs planned for Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Target is set to open as many as 150 stores in Canada by 2013, the first leg of its expansion into Canada after its $1.8 billion deal to buy Zellers stores from Hudson’s Bay Co.

Crate and Barrel will begin doling out kickbucks — Shopkick currency redeemable for rewards — and special offers to Shopkick users who visit any of its U.S. stores.

In an attempt to win exclusive rights to use its name in Canada, Target is asking a Canadian court to impose a preliminary injunction against Canadian retailer Isaac Benitah and his company, Fairweather, which owns 15 stores across Canada called Target Apparel and has a logo similar to that of Target.

Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is about to propose sweeping legislation that would impose a tax on all online purchases in a move aimed at closing states' budget shortfalls. Durbin's bill, dubbed the Main Street Fairness Act, intends to push online retailers to collect state sales tax on items purchased out of state. For more than a decade internet shoppers have enjoyed a sales tax holiday as a result of sales tax moratoriums established in 1998 to foster growth in the digital sales business. But with e-commerce businesses like Amazon.com no longer fledgling entities, and with states' budget deficits growing, imposing an e-commerce sales tax has become a hot-button issue.

Earth Day is right around the corner, and this time of year is always chock-full of environmentally friendly events, such as park clean-ups and tree plantings. However, there are a few local events worth noting that are happening at unlikely locales — large companies.