* Emeril Lagasse, the chef best known for exhorting home cooks to “kick it up a notch,” has joined forces with cataloger Allen Brothers Steaks for a new venture, Emeril’s Red Marble Steaks. The line of premium beef will be sold online beginning May 1 at www.RedMarbleSteaks.com. A print catalog may be forthcoming as well. Lagasse’s media and merchandising business is a division of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
* Sierra Trading Post, which sells discount apparel, outdoor gear, and home goods online, via catalog, and in four bricks-and-mortar stores, has expanded the number of countries to which it will now ship orders. Having added another 44 countries to its roster, Sierra Trading now ships to 92 nations worldwide, including Chile, China, Japan, and Venezuela.
* Canada has given online behemoth Amazon permission to establish its own distribution center in the country, in exchange for certain concessions, including a $20 million investment and sponsorship of an internship program for Canadian students. Until now Amazon had to rely on a Canada Post subsidiary to fulfill its Canadian orders, as Canada has numerous restrictions limiting foreign-owned businesses operating within certain “cultural” industries, including books.
