Atlanta, GA.

Atlanta, Ga. — Fashion basics brand Alternative Apparel appointed Erik Joule as its president and CMO, effective January 7, 2013. Joule will be based out of the company’s design office in Los Angeles, where he will report directly to CEO Evan Toporek...

A Tacoma, Wash. man apparently angry that a friend's hardware store isn't doing well has been charged in an ill-conceived arson attempt at a Home Depot store in Seattle, reports the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Prosecutors say Randol W. Stebner, 53, started two small fires near the Aurora Avenue North superstore on May 14. Stebner admitted to lighting the fires and said he would do it again, according to court documents obtained by the newspaper. 

Atlanta Business Chronicle by , Morning Call Editor Columbus, Ga., police arrested Christopher Newman, 34, of Phenix City, Ala., and charged him with battery with physical visual harm after Lowe's employees said he bit them and threatened them with a knife, reports the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. According to a police report obtained by the paper, officers saw Newman, who was also charged with shoplifting, fighting with employees. The incidents took place Saturday around 6 p.m. at the Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) store on Veterans Parkway, the report said. See all your followed company news on your personalized dashboard. To access the

New Catalog Highlights Over 1,600 Products Offered by Certified Minority, Women, Disabled, and Veteran-Owned Businesses; Represents 23% Growth in Featured Vendors Compared to 2010 Catalog BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), celebrating 25 years as a leading global provider of office supplies and services, today announced the release of the Company’s third annual Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) catalog, which highlights select HUB suppliers and an assortment of more than 1,600 items ranging from Arbill safety and medical supplies and Fortress surveillance equipment to Pointe International’s line of staplers and technology products. Office Depot was the first

The current buzz about GPS-based marketing on smartphones may be obscuring a whole slew of location-based marketing opportunities for retailers: namely, geo-targeting opportunities that have nothing to do with mobile devices. That's because an overwhelming majority of online purchases are still made from notebooks and desktops, and the general location of these devices can be determined by IP address. This simple fact of internet technology means any online store has the potential to market and merchandise relative to location. But does it makes sense to do this, and what geo-targeting strategies should you use?

Be fast, consistent and discreet, and you'll have happy customers who will come back again By Chris Merritt Put yourself in this customer's shoes: In the spring, Susan telephone-ordered an A-line jumper in the popular, seasonal color "shrimp" and in her usual size. When the jumper arrived, it fit too snugly in the hips. So Susan sent it back with a request for the next-largest size. A month passed. She had no jumper, no acknowledgment from the company and, when her credit card bill arrived, no credit for returned or exchanged merchandise. She finally received