Online diamonds and fine jewelry retailer, Blue Nile, Inc., has launched a two-part online engagement contest. The winning couple will hold their proposal at NASDAQ headquarters in New York while serenaded by Josh Jenkins of Green River Ordinance and singer/actress Katharine McPhee.The “Ring It. Sing It.” contest also will provide 11 winning couples with a one-of-a-kind song about their love written and performed by pop-rock band Green River Ordinance and an Infinity Love Knot Pendant from Blue Nile.  |
| Green River Ordinance |
The first part of the contest, “Ring It.,” launched Tuesday and will culminate with a live proposal at NASDAQ on November 29, known as Cyber Monday, the launch of the online holiday shopping season. Blue Nile, who is ringing the “Opening Bell” to mark the day, will provide the couple with an all-expenses-paid trip to New York and the groom-to-be with a custom diamond ring for the proposal. Green River Ordinance lead singer Josh Jenkins will serenade the couple in a live, acoustic performance of the band’s hit song “Endlessly,” and Katharine McPhee will perform “It's Not Christmas Without You” from her recently launched holiday album, Christmas is the Time To Say I Love You. The proposal will take place at 9:30 a.m. and will be broadcast live in Times Square.Winners of the weekly “Sing It.” portion of the contest will have their love story put to music. Green River Ordinance will serenade the couple with a personalized song performed and recorded using ooVoo, a video communication service, to share with friends, family and the world via social media.To learn more about the "Ring It. Sing It." contest and to register, visit http://www.facebook.com/BlueNile. The "Ring It. Sing It." contest is open to all U.S. residents ages 18 and older. "Ring It." entries will be accepted until November 15. Submissions for “Sing It.” began this week and must be received by Sunday of each competition week.
Macy's, Inc. said it will undergo a series of organizational expansions, totaling approximately 725 new positions over the next two years, to support the growth of macys.com and bloomingdales.com. The company said its fast-growing online businesses are being fueled by an “omnichannel” strategy that allows customers to shop seamlessly in stores, online and via mobile devices.“Macy's, Inc. is building one of the largest, most efficient and resourceful e-commerce organizations in American retailing as part of our comprehensive omnichannel strategy,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Macy's, Inc. “This is a business that thrives on unrelenting creativity and innovation. Having the right talent in the right place is vital as we seek to sustain and accelerate our sales growth online, as well as in the stores. These expansions to macys.com and bloomingdales.com represent investments in merchandising, marketing and site development, which complement ongoing improvements in systems infrastructure, fulfillment capacity and customer service.”* Macys.com expects to expand its merchandising and marketing organizations in New York by about 260 positions over the next two years and has signed a lease for additional office space at 1440 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan. The company currently employs approximately 420 macys.com associates at this location.* Macys.com expects to expand its site development and operations organization in downtown San Francisco by roughly 200 positions over the next two years and has expanded its office space at 685 Market St., near Union Square. The company currently employs more than 300 macys.com associates at this location. These and future positions in the macys.com technology, merchandising, creative and marketing organizations will be filled via a new multichannel recruiting strategy that includes a dedicated micro website within www.macysJOBS.com that is scheduled for launch by the end of January. * Bloomingdales.com expects to expand its merchandising, marketing and operations organizations in New York by about 115 positions over the next two years and is negotiating a lease for additional office space in Midtown Manhattan. The company currently employs approximately 200 bloomingdales.com associates in New York.* Macy's Systems & Technology organization, which supports the macys.com and bloomingdales.com e-commerce technology platform, expects to add about 150 positions over the next two years at its central campus in Johns Creek in suburban Atlanta. The company is purchasing and expanding within a building MST currently partially occupies at 5955 State Bridge Rd. This increase would bring the size of MST's workforce at Johns Creek to more than 1,200 employees. In total, the company expects to add nearly 3,500 full-time, part-time and seasonal holiday associates in the next two years in relation to the growth of its online businesses. This includes a new online fulfillment center to be built near Martinsburg, WV, and the expansion of a fulfillment center near Portland, TN—both of which were previously announced.In the first 10 months of fiscal 2010, online sales at Macy's, Inc. were up by about 29 percent compared with the same period last year. This is in addition to growth of about 20 percent in fiscal 2009 and 29 percent in fiscal 2008.Macy's, Inc., with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, is one of the nation's premier retailers, with fiscal 2009 sales of $23.5 billion. The company operates about 850 department stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, as well as the macys.com and bloomingdales.com websites. The company also operates four Bloomingdale's outlet stores.The company made the announcement January 4, but for some reason myself and others in the news business just began reporting it. It’s amazing what sometimes slips through the cracks of publishing operations.
