Sales and Marketing

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Retail sales increase as holidays approach

October retail industry sales increased 0.3 percent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis and 2.6 percent unadjusted compared with last year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

The increase marks the fourth straight …

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Retail report bodes well for holiday sales, analyst says

Sales at U.S. retailers rose more than expected in October to post their largest gain in seven months, Reuters reported after the release of a government report.

The U.S. Commerce Department said total retail sales …

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Retailers increase inventories ahead of holiday shopping

Inventories in the United States rose more than forecast in September as companies stocked shelves ahead of the holiday season. The 0.9 percent increase matched the rise in August, which was larger than previously estimated, …

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Urban 515 is locally focused


Urban 515 co-founders Scott Thomas and Kari Lantz have frequented restaurants and social scenes around the globe in the course of their individual pursuits of business and pleasure.

Now the business partners want to promote …

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Winning and losing


Simon has autism. Simon loves to win. Actually, Simon needs to win, and thrives on coming in first. Simon also HATES to lose, and some of his autism symptoms manifest themselves when he can’t claim …

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Just say thank you


This is the time of year when many businesses send out Thanksgiving cards, holiday gifts and greetings. Most often, these heartfelt good wishes are a way of saying “thank you” for being a good client …

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A Closer Look


Give me a little background.

When I was in school, I interned at Mary Greeley Medical Center in the community relations department; I interned for the Iowa State athletic department; I was a conference manager …

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Bullet points don’t sell


We have become a bullet-point society. Blame it on USA Today if you want. A headline, some bullet points or, better yet, a chart, and voila – you’ve told a story. Experts tell us that …

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Meredith declares dividend

The Meredith Corp. board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of 23 cents per share, payable on Dec. 15 to shareholders of record on Nov. 30. The company has paid a dividend for 63 …

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U.S. retailers expected to report weak October sales gains

U.S. retailers might need an extra boost in the holiday shopping season, thanks in part to warm fall weather, of all things.

Retailers are poised to report their weakest monthly sales gains in six months …