Events

HCW has named Bayer Properties to manage Branson Landing, the 95-acre mixed-use development in Branson, Missouri, that is home to the town’s convention center, Hilton Hotel, and in excess of 450,000 sq. ft. of retail and entertainment space.   Branson Landing is situated on 1.5 miles of Lake Taneycomo waterfront and its boardwalk, live entertainment, and nightly fire and water show are a big draw for the 8 million or so tourists who visit the town annually.  

Central Florida developer Butler Enterprises named Joey Mandese its director of development. He will oversee all elements — from design through construction--of the redevelopment of Butler Town Center, a Main Street-style, mixed-use complex going up in Gainesville.   Formerly the owner of a construction business in Gainesville, Mandese studied architecture for two years before earning a degree in building construction and the University of Florida.   

Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM), a leader in business innovation and technology, has hired retail business-to-business media veteran Wayne Bennett as senior VP, retail to lead business process initiatives between the retail industry and the supplier community that serves them.  

With back-to-school spending on a “stock up” cycle rather than a “make do” cycle, total spending for K-12 and college school supplies is expected to reach $75.8 billion, up from last year’s $68 billion, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics.   

Mall of America is using leading-edge technology to enhance the on- and offsite customer experience.   The Bloomington, Minnesota-based center is the latest retail participant to adopt virtual reality (VR) technology. A new, VR-based immersive experience allows customers to “see” retail, entertainment and live events within the mall.  

Sequels are rarely better than the original, but the second annual Amazon Prime Day may deserve comparisons to “The Godfather Part II” and “The Empire Strikes Back.”  

The Hershey Company is moving its popular store in Manhattan’s Times Square to a much larger location.   The company will unveil a new Hershey’s Chocolate World flagship at 20 Times Square in late 2017. The new store will be three times larger than the existing Hershey’s store, which has been a major tourist attraction since it opened in 2002. It will also feature even more bells and whistles, including a state-of-the-art digital billboard.  

Hello Kitty Cafe is pretty darn cute — and popular.    Located at the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine, California, the pop-up café opened on July 15, and draw such crowds that it had to temporarily close for a few hours. It’s housed within a pink shipping container that has been refurbished to feature a counter and dining patio area, complete with bistro tables and pink-and-white striped awnings. Bold character graphics adorn the exterior and interior container panels.  

Urban Outfitters, which has a history of selling products that can sometimes cause offense (at least to some consumers), has entered the presidential debate.   The chain is offering a range of merchandise criticizing Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported, including  a book of Trump quotations styled to look like Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong’s Little Red Book.   

Another July, another Amazon Prime Day. With the e-tail leader already confirming this retail “holiday” will be back for a third time next July, let’s take a look back at the 2016 edition.   While a lot went well for Amazon during Prime Day this year, we may as well start with the biggest blunder. Namely, the widespread checkout issues that occurred during the morning hours. A glitch caused some U.S. and U.K. shoppers to have difficulties loading items into their shopping carts and/or making purchases.