Cross-Merchandising

By Jim Singer, A.T. Kearney, and Ryan Mathews, Black Monk Consulting

New York -- Bloomingdale’s is celebrating the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) 64th NBA All-Star Game in a big way with 16 basketball-inspired in-store pop-up shops filled with NBA team and All-Star merchandise.

After a successful collaboration with the NFL last year, Bloomingdale's is turning its eye to the basketball court by teaming up with the NBA for the 2015 All-Star Game.

Bloomingdale's will set up 16 basketball-inspired pop-up shops at its stores across the country and on bloomingdales.com/nba. The store will offer fans retro-era jerseys, vintage graphic T-shirts, accessories from brands like Mitchell & Ness, Sportique, #BEENTRILL#, and Stance, and a special bomber jackets designed by Mark McNairy.

Helping small business owners and consumers achieve peak performance is the premise behind a new branding initiative at Office Depot called, “Gear Up For Great.”

Lowe’s is teaming up with a key supplier to engage a new generation of shoppers with a multifaceted initiative that involves in-store and social media elements.

Tool manufacturer Dremel will be offering a series of in-store clinics at Lowe's to help families design and build a race-worthy Pinewood Derby Car. With the help of Dremel tools and accessories, participants will learn how to create a winning derby car without an elaborate set of tools.

Pataskala, Ohio – Specialty apparel retailer Avenue Stores is turning its online customers into brand advocates by using ShopSocially’s referral marketing solution to generate referrals from its website users.    By encouraging users to connect with the Avenue brand on Facebook and share their purchases on social media, Avenue is driving word-of-mouth promotions resulting in a referral traffic that is converting at a rate as high as 28.48%.   

Rite Aid wants to ring in the New Year with more sales and is counting on a generous new seasonal savings and rewards initiative.

The company has announced it is offering its wellness+ loyalty program members the opportunity to receive lifestyle and entertainment rewards for every $50 spent in stores on participating products now through Jan. 24.

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores has reinforced its support of the military by introducing an everyday 10 percent discount for all past or present members of the armed forces and their families.

The nation’s leading fabric and craft specialty retailer with 850 stores said all military members, past or present, and their families qualify for the 10 percent everyday discount. To receive the discount, customers must provide proof of military service or military dependent ID upon checkout. The discount is valid in-store only.