Nordstrom has closed deals to acquire two leading retail technology companies: BevyUp, the innovators behind a digital selling tool, and MessageYes, a platform rooted in conversational commerce.
“The retail environment is changing faster than ever, but the value of service, speed, convenience and newness remain constant,” said Brian Gill, technology senior vice president at Nordstrom. […]
Apprenti™, the nation’s first registered tech apprenticeship program which launched in Seattle Washington, will expand nationally into Oregon, Michigan, California and Ohio. The apprenticeship program – which hasa been guided by the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) in 2016 – recruits, trains and places diverse talent into tech roles.
According to a forecast […]
A well-run conference is like a two-way mirror. On one side, the curated content must reflect the genuine interests and aspirations of those who participate, quenching their thirst for personal inspiration and professional growth.
On the other end, the conference lens must allow the content programmers to see how their audience is tuning in. Done […]
Join WTIA in Achieving Civic Goals
Washington’s high technology trade association, the WTIA, held its own version of an NFL pre-season “OTA” in May and like the Organized Team Activity in football, it was a “full contact,” or more accurately, a FullConTech team-oriented event.
A highlight of the 2017 FullConTech “training camp” was a Civic Playbook packed goal-line to end-zone with nearly 140 […]
The Robert Half Career City Index, a ranking and comparison of 25 U.S. cities across several indicators selected to measure the different aspects that relate to career development, has joined with The Economist to score the #1 place to work in America. The overall top scorer on the career cross table is (drum roll, please) Seattle.
[…]
The City of Seattle joined women everywhere in standing up for gender equality on International Women’s Day. The City stands with women everywhere who persevere, improve our world and fight for a better tomorrow. Read Mayor Murray and the City Council’s proclamation for International Women’s Day.
City of Seattle PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS,
International Women’s […]
Imagine if there were only 352,271 people left on earth. Like the elephant’s trumpeting cry, that critical number would signal a clarion call for action. Such a finding is the latest measure of the population of the world’s elephants in Africa, as monitored by Seattle’s Vulcan Technology.
The Seattle firm led by founder Paul Allen is developing solutions to track Africa’s pachyderms and […]
Amazon showcased its first-ever, branded air cargo plane during Seattle’s Seafair Air Show, Aug 5-7. The Boeing 767-300, operated by Amazon’s air cargo provider Atlas Air, flew above of thousands of Seattle residents including many Amazon employees.
“Creating an air transportation network is expanding our capacity to ensure great delivery speeds for our Prime members for […]
The game is immersive, based on augmented reality. But the stock surge of Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo is all too real. Nintendo North America, which is headquartered in Redmond, saw its stock soar nearly 25 percent Monday after the release of “Pokémon Go,” which directs its users to explore their physical surroundings to find, catch and train Pokémon characters.
[…]
New HD “Big Screen” video platform delivers exclusive Sounders FC content on-demand to desktops, laptops, and tablets
Seattle Sounders FC is the most recent MLS team to partner with DeskSite, officially launching the Sounders FC DeskSite, a new, interactive video app that proactively delivers premium, high-definition video content on-demand to fans – for free.
Enter your email address below to receive updates each time we publish new content.
Apr 17 2018
Starbucks to Close All Stores Nationwide for Racial-Bias Education on May 29
Starbucks Coffee Company today announced it will be closing its more than 8,000 company-owned stores in the United States on the afternoon of May 29 to conduct racial-bias education geared toward preventing discrimination in our stores. The training will be provided to nearly 175,000 partners (employees) across the country, and will become part of the onboarding process for new partners.
“I’ve spent the last few days in Philadelphia with my leadership team listening to the community, learning what we did wrong and the steps we need to take to fix it,” said Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson. “While this is not limited to Starbucks, we’re committed to being a part of the solution. Closing our stores for racial bias training is just one step in a journey that requires dedication from every level of our company and partnerships in our local communities.”
All Starbucks company-owned retail stores and corporate offices will be closed in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 29. During that time, partners will go through a training program designed to address implicit bias, promote conscious inclusion, prevent discrimination and ensure everyone inside a Starbucks store feels safe and welcome.
“The company’s founding values are based on humanity and inclusion,” said executive chairman Howard Schultz, who joined Johnson and other senior Starbucks leaders in Philadelphia to meet with community leaders and Starbucks partners. “We will learn from our mistakes and reaffirm our commitment to creating a safe and welcoming environment for every customer.”
The curriculum will be developed with guidance from several national and local experts confronting racial bias, including Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative; Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; Heather McGhee, president of Demos; former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder; and Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. Starbucks will involve these experts in monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of the measures we undertake.
Earlier this week, Starbucks began a review of its training and practices to make important reforms where necessary to ensure our stores always represent our Mission and Values, by providing a safe and inclusive environment for our customers and partners.
Once completed, the company will make the education materials available to other companies, including our licensee partners, for use with their employees and leadership. [24×7]
