Marketing

Austin, Texas – A flagship Whole Foods market is reportedly coming to a corner location in midtown Atlanta. According to the Atlanta Business Journal, the multi-level, 70,000-sq,-ft. will anchor a 14-story mixed-use development that will also include 390 luxury apartments.

Miami-based The Related Group is developing the project, with Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart serving as architect.
 

Oak Brook, Ill. - Retail Properties of America Inc. (RPAI) is shuffling some executives as part of a strategic realignment of its operating platform geographically between the eastern and western regions of the country. Timothy Steffan, former senior VP, asset management and commercial leasing for Macerich's eastern region, has joined RPAI as divisional president – eastern region.

Express has recruited a new supermodel to serve as the face of its fall 2015 denim collection.

U.S. supermodel Karlie Kloss will star in the retailer's "Fit for You" advertising campaign photographed by Lachlan Bailey and styled by Claire Richardson. The official campaign launches July 2015 in print, digital, in-store, and on social media.

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.

Bentonville, Ark. – It’s no secret that a big part of Wal-Mart’s strategy is to maintain its market share in the face of competition from Amazon.com, and maybe even steal some away.

But Wal-Mart is now taking the fight for customers directly to Amazon in a big way with a new pricing and shipping promotion that directly challenges the upcoming July 15 Amazon “Prime Day” event.

Batavia, Ill. -- Comedian Ben Bailey is doing his thing in an Aldi supermarket as opposed to his usual taxi cab.

Aldi, the fast-growing deep-discount supermarket chain, has teamed up with Ben Bailey, best known as host of the former TV series "Cash Cab,” in an online video series. Described as equal parts education and entertainment, the series is designed to help introduce Aldi to new customers across the United States and in Southern California specifically, where it is planning to open approximately 45 new stores in 2016.

Aliso Viejo, Calif. - Johnny Rockets is partnering with foodservice consulting group EMPAD to support purchasing and distribution for the brand's U.S. restaurants. As part of the relationship, EMPAD will assist Johnny Rockets with distributor pricing verification, analysis, sourcing and more to improve the supply chain process for the brand's franchise and corporate-owned restaurants.

Mahwah, N.J. - Ascena Retail Group Inc. has downgraded several aspects of its outlook for fiscal 2015, which ends July 25. Ascena now expects full-year adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations in the range of $365 million to $375 million, and full-year adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $0.57 to $0.60, as compared to its prior expectation of $0.70 to $0.75 per share