Marketing Tactics

New York -- Bob Evans Farms Inc. plans to remodel 150 restaurants to its “Farm-Fresh Refresh” format in its current fiscal year. The remodels will include 40 sites in the Columbus, Ohio, market in the first quarter.

In its recently completed fiscal 2012, the chain remodeled 87 locations, with sales up 5% in the updated restaurants compared to the rest of the chain, executives said on the company’s fourth-quarter conference call.

NEW YORK — Procter & Gamble, in partnership with Walmart.com, is targeting urban shoppers in New York and Chicago throughout the month of June to offer savings on limited-edition everyday essentials.

Through the promotion — which kicked off in Chicago on Wednesday and launched in New York on Thursday — P&G is bringing to life its “everyday needs delivered for free” message for consumables.

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Thursday report by Reuters said that RadioShack will take a 49% stake in a joint venture with Cybermart to open small-format, RadioShack-branded stores in greater China.

Cybermart, an affiliate of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., and RadioShack will open their first location in Shanghai in July. Additional locations are planned for mainland China, as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

New York -- Eugene Ferkauf, founder of the E.J. Korvette chain, died Tuesday at the age of 91, said Yeshiva University, where he was a longtime former trustee and benefactor, the New York Times reported.

"He was a brilliant entrepreneur, innovator and pioneer of the discounting concept," said Burt Flickinger, III, managing director of the retail consultancy Strategic Resource Group, in the report.

HOUSTON — The Men’s Wearhouse raised prices to preserve margins in the face of weak first quarter demand, but it wasn’t enough to prevent profits from falling short of estimates.

The company reported first quarter earnings per share of 52 cents, below guidance of 53 cents to 54 cents a share provided when the company reported fourth quarter results on March 7. Analysts’ expected the company to earn 55 cents a share.

HOUSTON — The Men’s Wearhouse raised prices to preserve margins in the face of weak first quarter demand, but it wasn’t enough to prevent profits from falling short of estimates.

The company reported first quarter earnings per share of 52 cents, below guidance of 53 cents to 54 cents a share provided when the company reported fourth quarter results on March 7. Analysts’ expected the company to earn 55 cents a share.

PHILADELPHIA — Comparable sales slipped 2.8% at Pep Boys during the first quarter ended April 28, as customers were slow to come to the retailer for parts and services. The comps decline consisted of a 1.2% comparable-service revenue decrease and a 3.2% comparable-merchandise sales decrease. Total sales for the quarter increased by $11.1 million, or 2.2%, to $524.6 million from $513.5 million for the same period last year.

Spending on Father’s Day is projected to total $12.7 billion this year, and Walmart should get a decent portion of that total given its strength in top gift giving categories.

The Nation Retail Federation forecast this week that average spending per person for Father’s Day would increase 10% to $117 per person from $106 last year, further narrowing the gap with Mother’s Day when spending per person averaged $152.