Marketing

Washington, D.C. – President Obama is not pleased with how Staples and other large U.S. companies are handling employee health benefits. In an interview with BuzzFeed, Obama said that Staples and other corporations should not use the Affordable Care Act as an excuse to reduce employee hours or wages.

New York -- Cushman & Wakefield announced today that the real estate firm has been appointed exclusive leasing agent for the retail space at 2 Herald Square.

Located in the heart of Manhattan’s largest shopping district, 2 Herald Square touts 60,500 sq. ft. of available space spread among three floors. It features a 75-ft. storefront right across from Macy’s, and neighbors including H&M’s new Herald Square flagship, The Gap, and Victoria’s Secret’s international flagship.

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market's value message is resonating with shoppers as the chain delivered same store sales growth of 4.5% and record first quarter profits as net income increased to $167 million from $158 million.

The retailer said sales for its first quarter ended Jan. 18 increased 10% to $4.67 billion due to the addition of new selling space and the increased productivity of existing stores reflected in the 4.5% comp increase, which pushed sales per square foot to $990.

Target is continuing to re-define its digital offerings, this time by shutting down its two-year-old movie streaming service.

The Target Ticket service was shut down Tuesday, but customers will still be able to use the service to view already rented movies and TV shows until Target Ticket's closure on March 7.

Procter & Gamble Co. has added the former CEO and chairman of Home Depot Inc. to its board of directors.

Francis Blake, 65, joins the board efefctive immediately.

The move comes just a few days after his retirement as chairman of Home Depot. He stepped down from the CEO position in November.

Carrollton, Texas - In a move designed to offer its guests a more enhanced, robust and personalized experience both inside and outside of the restaurant, TGI Fridays has selected two new agencies – Made Movement (Made) and Meredith Xcelerated Marketing (MXM) – to manage all future digital marketing, e-mail and technology campaigns.

Livermore, Calif. -- Simon announced that its Bay Area outlet shopping center, Livermore Premium Outlets, will be rebranded and named San Francisco Premium Outlets in conjunction with a major expansion.

The 512,000-sq.-ft. center is located in the affluent East Bay area of northern California and features 130 designer and name brand outlet stores, including Armani, Barneys New York, Bloomingdale's Outlet, Burberry, Cole Haan, DKNY, Elie Tahari, Kate Spade New York, Last Call by Neiman Marcus, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada and Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th.

 Indianapolis -- Simon announced that Krystal Zell has been named senior VP of marketing. In this newly created role, Zell will oversee the field marketing organization for all Simon Malls, The Mills and Simon Premium Outlets.

Zell served as VP of Starwood Preferred Guest at Starwood Hotels & Resorts where she led the loyalty strategy, business development and operations for its Starwood Preferred Guest and B2B loyalty programs.