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Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 Aflac chief Dan Amos credits duck for branding success Heard of Aflac? Credit the white animated duck. In the 1990s, just one in 10 people in the United States were familiar with the Columbus, Ga., insurance company. But longtime Aflac chief executive Daniel Amos said Thursday in a speech in Boston that all changed in 2000 after Aflac introduced its new	Advertisement
Planes, trains, automobiles ... and Dunkin’ Donuts joe Citing a jump in airline tickets bought for the upcoming Christmas-to-New Year’s holiday period, Dunkin’ Donuts wants to alert travelers that it now has stores strategically placed at many airports as well as at many bus and train terminals. The Canton-based coffee-and-baked-goods chain says airport and other “non-traditional locations” continue to be strong growth areas for the company. A chain with 10,000 restaurants around the world says it now has more than 500 Dunkin’ outlets at non-traditional locations.
TJX: Same-store sales rose 3% in November TJX Cos., the Framingham-based company that operates such retail chains as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, said Thursday that same-store sales rose 3 percent in November when compared to sales in the same month a year ago; that gain was “above plan,” TJX said. But Wall Street analysts were expecting a bit more. Same-store sales --- or sales at stores open at least a year --- are regarded by analysts as a strong indicator of a retailer’s performance.
Sebastian Pariath will head John Hancock Operations John Hancock Financial said that Sebastian Pariath has been named as the head of John Hancock Operations, a newly created role in which he will lead the company’s information-services department. Pariath, whose appointment is effective Jan. 1, will report to Craig Bromley, president of John Hancock Financial. John Hancock is a Boston-based division of Manulife Financial Corp., a large financial services company headquartered in Toronto.
Acquia, a Burlington software company, completes $30m financing Acquia Inc., a Burlington company that offers products and services to help customers build websites using an open source publishing platform called Drupal, said it has completed a $30 million financing round, bringing total investment in the company to $68.5 million. Led by new investor Investor Growth Capital, the round includes Goldman Sachs and Accolade Partners, as well as all of Acquia’s current investors, North Bridge Venture Partners, Sigma Partners, and Tenaya Capital.
HP Hood’s ‘soup boutique’ food truck will be dishing free samples in Harvard Square Bisque buffs and soup lovers may want to be on the lookout in Harvard Square Thursday; that’s when the HP Hood Soup Boutique is scheduled to be on the scene, at the Grafton Street Pub & Grill, dishing up soups that make creative use of Hood cream. This soup boutique is on wheels --- not to put too fine a point on it, the boutique is a food truck officially titled the Soup Boutique, Inspired by Hood Cream.
New England economy growing, but slowing The New England economy continues to grow, but not as fast as other regions across the nation, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday. The report, known as the “Beige Book,” cited a slowdown in several key areas of the New England economy, including home sales and the region’s important technology sector.
Bullhorn acquires two recruiting software firms Bullhorn Inc., a Boston recruiting software company that pioneered the concept of making candidate and client information accessible online, is acquiring two software firms that provide services to staffing and recruiting agencies, Bullhorn announced Wednesday. With the addition of MaxHire Solutions Inc. of Vancouver, Canada, and Sendouts Inc., based in St. Louis, Bullhorn will have 5,000 clients, 250 employees, and a projected $70 million a year in revenues, up from $40 million this year, the company said.
Google buys Cambridge online marketing firm Google Inc. has acquired Cambridge online marketing firm Incentive Targeting Inc., a five-year-old start-up that builds software for retailers to offer customers targeted promotions. Google confirmed the deal Wednesday afternoon, but did not disclose any financial terms. Incentive Targeting had raised nearly $4 million in early-stage funding, largely from area angel investing groups such as Launchpad Venture Group. Christopher Mirabile, co-managing director of LaunchPad, posted a picture on Twitter Tuesday night that appeared to show employees of Incentive Targeting toasting the acquisition.
Joseph V. Morrissey is stepping down as president of Beth Israel Deaconess-Milton hospital Joseph V. Morrissey is stepping down as president of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton, effective Dec. 31, the hospital’s board of directors said Wednesday. Morrissey will be succeeded on an interim basis by Doris Sinkevich, who currently serves as the hospital’s chief operating officer and chief nursing officer, while a committee appointed by the board conducts a search for a successor.
IHOP is already talking about free pancakes on Feb. 5 (National Pancake Day) National Pancake Day is still two months off, but that isn’t stopping the IHOP restaurant chain from alerting the breakfast public that it will once again be dishing up free flapjacks on this culinary high holy day. California-based IHOP said Wednesday that it plans to pair National Pancake Day on Feb. 5 with a fund-raising effort on behalf of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Plans call for IHOP’s roughly 1,500 restaurants across the country to treat guests to a complimentary stack of IHOP’s buttermilk pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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