Marketing Tactics

Walmart U.S. chief merchandising and marketing officer Duncan Mac Naughton will have some explaining to do next week when he is scheduled to participate in the 33rd Annual William Blair Growth Stock Conference on Wednesday, June 12.

New York -- Ann Inc., which runs the Ann Taylor and Loft,  reported that its fiscal first-quarter net income dropped 27%, as unseasonably cold weather held back sales of spring and summer clothing and led to discounts. The retailer also cut its revenue outlook for the year.

Chicago -- For pure play premium pet food and accessories retailer PetFlow, online marketing is a crucial component of its business. Initially, PetFlow used Google AdWords to direct consumers searching for specific pet products to its site. However, as PetFlow co-founder Alex Zhardanovsky told the audience during a morning keynote session at the Internet Retailer Conference in Chicago, initial efforts by the retailer to expand its online marketing activities to Facebook did not work so well.

Stanley Black & Decker is trying a new logo on for size. Although it's still yellow and black and still spells "Stanley," it represents a new brand identity for the iconic tool brand and diverse industrial company. 

HAMPSTEAD, Md. — JoS. A. Bank Clothiers’ reported net income for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 of $8.1 million, a 45% fall from $14.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012.

Total sales for the first quarter decreased 2.6% to $196.1 million from $201.4 million in year-ago period.

NEW YORK — Golfsmith International plans to open its first specialty golf store on New York City’s Fifth Avenue. By positioning its interactive store in the heart of the Big Apple, Golfsmith will reach both New York area golfers as well as tourists visiting the city from around the world.

To mark the store opening, the golf retailer has scheduled a number of activities from Friday, June 7 through Sunday, June 9, including $50,000 in cash giveaways, golf clinics from instructor Hank Haney and more than $7,500 in prizes.

New York -- Specialty retailer Vera Bradley has helped boost the revenue and margins generated by its recently launched line of baby accessories by obtaining advance insight from consumers about what they would pay for certain products and also what features most interested them.

CHICAGO, Ill. — Mercent, a leading technology company that enables retailers to reach and convert more shoppers online, has signed a strategic partnership with Shop.com, the e-commerce arm of Market America. 

This latest partnership expands Mercent’s portfolio of online shopping destinations supported by its SaaS platform and offers leading retailers the ability to market and sell to millions of consumers on the Shop.com third-party marketplace.