Marketing Tactics

Davenport, Iowa -- Von Maur Department Store will premier its newly redesigned lingerie department at its soon-to-be-opened location at Atlanta's Perimeter Mall. The 234,000-sq.-ft. store is set to become one of the chain’s largest stores to date.

April same-store sales at Target increased 1.1% and helped the company achieve a 5.3% first-quarter comps increase that was the highest in six years. How much of the performance was due to record warm weather versus good execution of a solid strategy against the back drop of an improved economy is debatable.

NEW YORK — Several apparel retailers, including Limited Brands, Zumiez and Ross Stores, posted better-than-expected sales in April. It was widely expected that an earlier Easter, which pushed demand into March, and cool weather would hurt sales.

Limited Brands, parent of Victoria’s Secret, reported a 7% rise in same-store sales for April, beating estimates.

Sleep Number, a division of Select Comfort Corp., takes shopping for mattresses and bedding accessories to a new level with its updated store design. The new prototype, which was designed by JGA, Southfield, Mich., replaces the traditional—and bland—sea of mattresses with a modern and interactive environment that elevates the customer journey and positions the product as hero. Sleep Number debuted the new design in Oakbrook Promenade, Oakbrook, Ill., and it has since been rolled out to 74 locations nationwide.

Hasbro has partnered with teen retailer Aéropostale for an exclusive line featuring the Battleship and G.I. Joe brands.

The line will include men's graphic t-shirts featuring Battleship and G.I. Joe images ahead of the debuts of "Battleship" on May 18 and "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" on June 29.

New York -- Macy's Inc., Target Corp., Kohl’s, Saks and Costco’s Wholesale Corp. all reported results that fell short of expectations in April. An early Easter, which helped fuel March results, high gas prices, cool weather and renewed worries about the economy contributed to the decline, according to many analysts.

SAN BRUNO, Calif. — HumanKind Water, PlateTopper and SnapIt Eyeglass Repair Kit have the distinction of being the winners of Walmart's Get on the Shelf contest -- beating out more than 4,000 inventors, entrepreneurs and small businesses to claim the coveted prize of being carried at Walmart.com and in Walmart U.S. stores.

Plenty of people shop Walmart’s stores for their groceries but go elsewhere to buy meat. Now the company is looking to convert a larger percentage of its more discriminating shoppers to purchasers of meat with a new quality-based initiative supported by an innovative shopper marketing strategy and a national ad campaign.