Marketing

Highland Park, Minn. -- Target is going small — really small.

The world’s second smallest Target, a TargetExpress store, is set to open in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul, Minn.

The 16,000-sq.-ft. store, which opens July 22, will feature a pharmacy and cater to a community of families, empty nesters and college students, the Grand Forks Herald reports.

Walmart's Asian business is regrouping after the founders of the retailer's e-commerce arm in China, Yihaodian, have left the company, according to Bloomberg.

The news service reported the company confirmed Wednesday that Yu Gang, Yihaodian’s chairman, and Liu Junling, the CEO, left to start a new venture.

New York -- A former chief information officer at Walmart is joining retail technology firm Newgistics.

Gene Wojciechowski has been named CIO of Newgistics, where he will be tasked with providing executive leadership and strategic direction for all of Newgistics’ core technology operations.

New York -- Online beauty subscription retailer Birchbox is plunging deeper into brick-and-mortar retailing — and it is seeking customer input to help guide its decision.

Vancouver, Wash. – Papa Murphy’s Holdings Inc. is minding the store when it comes to marketing. The pizza chain has signed an agreement with marketing execution firm InnerWorkings Inc. to strengthen the impact of its point-of-purchase printed marketing materials and branded merchandise at the its more than 1,400 locations across the U.S.

With its stock trading at a 52-week low, Sears has made an interesting choice to lead its department store business.

The company says it has found a new executive to develop a strategy for the Sears format that focuses on meeting the needs of the Shop Your Way member.  

New York -- Starbucks Corp. is expanding its already extensive global footprint.

The chain announced it will open its first stores in South Africa next year in a partnership deal with South African management group Taste Holdings. The initial store is scheduled to open in Johannesburg during the first half of 2016.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is not backing down in its challenge to the upcoming July 15 Amazon “Prime Day” event. One day after reducing the minimum online purchase for free shipping from $50 to $35 and reducing prices on thousands of online items, Wal-Mart is going a step further and guaranteeing it will offer lower prices than Amazon.