Marketing Tactics

New York -- ICA Sweden has signed a licensing agreement with Starbucks Coffee Company to open Starbucks retail stores in the grocery store channel in Sweden. The cafés will be operated by ICA according to the Starbucks licensing concept and under the Starbucks brand.

Initially, the plan is to open three Starbucks retail stores during 2015. These will then be evaluated before a decision is made on the possible establishment of more cafés.

New York -- Urban Outfitters on Monday apologized via its Twitter account after it came under fire for selling a “vintage” Kent State University sweatshirt featuring red dye markings that resembled blood stains, a look that called to mind the infamous  shooting that occurred on the Kent State campus in 1970.

Wolverine Worldwide is looking to bolster its brand leadership and management team. To that end, the company has promoted Rick Blackshaw to president, Sperry Top-Sider, and Chris Lindner to president, Keds.

Blackshaw served most recently as president of Keds, where he is credited with leading the brand to a global resurgence with a focused consumer-centric business strategy, outstanding product and compelling marketing. Blackshaw came to Keds from Converse, where he was the VP and GM of the Chuck Taylor footwear business.    

Collective Bias is rebranding its annual blogger conference in 2015 and taking the event on the road with a nationwide tour of 11 cities to facilitate increased participation by brands, bloggers and retailers.

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. plans to open four new stores on Sept. 18. The new stores will be located at the Pinnacle Promenade in Rogers, Arkansas, Ingram Festival in Ingram, Texas, Waugh Chapel Town Center in Crofton, Maryland, and Evansville Pavilion in Evansville, Indiana.

Stores offer the DSW Rewards loyalty program, and customers can also participate in the Shoe Lovers program on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Research Triangle Park, N.C. – ChannelAdvisor Corp., a provider of cloud-based e-commerce solutions, has launched its 2014 Autumn Release, with new features and advancements added to the company’s platform. The 2014 Autumn Release offers enhanced EBay management with QuickStart and Custom options, new support for social sites Polyvore, Wanelo and mobile search engine Yahoo Gemini, as well as expanded global capabilities through support for marketplaces such as MeinPaket, Rakuten.de and Zalando.

New York - Mobile rich media advertising drives high expansion rates and secondary engagement for retail brands. According to internal retail industry mobile ad performance analyses conducted by predictive mobile advertising provider AdTheorent Inc. across its network during the second quarter of 2014, rich media drove a strong expansion rate across the retail category, delivering at a rate 125% higher than the industry average.

This fall, T.J.Maxx is partnering with Erika Christensen and designer Jenn Rogien, who has made headlines for her wardrobe curations for hit TV series such as “Girls” and “Orange Is the New Black,” for a new ad campaign revolving around a woman’s style.