Meanwhile, Apple plans to expand operations in Austin, Kopari and Blue Nile hire chief marketing officers and Sleep Country acquires Canadian mattress brand Endy.

Consumer electronics e-retailer Newegg Inc., No. 22 in the Internet Retailer 2018 Top 1000, has added more FedEx pick-up locations to its network of Hold at FedEx Location service.

Now, Newegg customers have a choice of more than 12,000 FedEx locations in the U.S. for this service, including FedEx office retail stores, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. stores (No. 38) and some The Kroger Co. stores (No. 86) and Albertsons Inc. (No. 178) locations. Many Kroger and Albertsons locations will even extend their operating hours in December to accommodate the busy holiday shopping season.

When a customer is checking out on Newegg.com, she selects to have her order shipped to a FedEx location and choose from an available pick-up location that is convenient for her. The customer will then be notified as soon as her order is ready for pickup.

“Given that 80% of our U.S. customers live within five miles of a FedEx pick-up location, we expect a strong reception to our expanded network of order pick-up locations,” says Mitesh Patel, vice president of marketing at Newegg.

In other e-commerce news:

advertisement
  • Apple Inc., No. 2 in the Top 1000, said it would invest $1 billion to expand its operations in Austin by constructing a new employee campus in the area, large enough to house 15,000 additional employees. Further facilities will also be established in Culver City, Seattle and San Diego, and existing sites in Pittsburgh and Boulder will be expanded over the next three years. In a statement on its website Thursday, the company said it was also considering other U.S. regions for growth. The company said the second Austin building would cater to a wide range of business disciplines, including R&D, sales, customer support, and engineering.

  • Beauty retailer Kopari has appointed Jeremy Lowenstein as chief marketing officer in which he will oversee brand strategy and marketing. Lowenstein joined Kopari after more than 10 years with Coty Inc.-owned Sally Hansen, where he served as vice president of global marketing and product development at the beauty brand. He also worked in the marketing department for Estée Lauder-owned Aveda for about five years.
  • Online jewelry retailer Blue Nile Inc. (No. 108) has hired Alexandra Wheeler as chief marketing officer to oversee the brand’s marketing and customer experience. She spent more than 10 years with Starbucks in various senior-level roles, most recently as vice president of global digital marketing and Starbucks Rewards marketing. “Alex will focus on creating an integrated and meaningful brand experience for a digital audience while leveraging our industry expertise to serve them,” said Jason Goldberger, CEO of Blue Nile.
  • Sleep Country Canada Holdings has acquired Canadian mattress brand Endy for $89 million. Rajen Ruparell, Endy’s founder and chairman, and Mike Gettis, Endy’s founder and CEO, will remain active in the business in their respective roles. “This acquisition will allow Endy to continue to grow rapidly and exceed customer expectations in a rapidly evolving retail climate, while remaining separate,” said Ruparell.  Sleep Country has 264 stores and 16 distribution centers across Canada.

Bloomberg contributed to this report.

Favorite