Cross-Merchandising

Target may have wanted to draw attention to its Shops at Target program at its media event in New York last week, the press in attendance appeared to be interested in one thing -- Apple.

Though the Target executives present did their best to steer questions toward the topic at hand, they failed to keep reporters from asking about the retailer's partnership with Apple. The persistent reporters, as is required by such a career path, kept at it and did manage to get a few snippets of information from the tight-lipped folks at Target.

LOS ANGELES — Kohl's has signed on as the exclusive retail partner of "¡Q’viva! The Chosen," a documentary celebrating Latin culture, music, and dance is making its Spanish-language U.S. debut January 28, 2012 on Univision and will also air on leading networks throughout the Americas, according to a press statement released by Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Jamie King, Simon Fuller and XIX Entertainment.

PITTSBURGH — Giant Eagle on Thursday unveiled its fifth Market District location in five years — and its first in Pittsburgh’s North Hills suburbs.

Boston -- City Sports plans to relocate its store in Suburban Square, Ardmore, Pa., into the space previously occupied by Talbots. The new location, at 8,000 sq. ft., will accommodate upgrades planned for a refreshed and fully integrated shopping experience, including the brand's new women's concept.

Target is bringing the experience of small, independent shops to the masses with its next design partnership, “The Shops at Target.”

Launching May 16 for a six-week run in all Target stores and online, “The Shops at Target” will provide customers with the feel of visiting some of the world’s most unique boutiques without having to travel beyond their nearest Target store. 

Roughly 50,000 acres of additional wildlife habitat across the United States will be preserved in 2012 as part of Walmart’s Acres for America program.

The company announced awards to support projects in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina and Tennessee as part of the Acres for America program that began in 2005 with a $35 million commitment to purchase and preserve one acre of wildlife habitat in the U.S. for every acre of land developed by the company through 2015.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. confirmed Thursday that it plans to install Apple mini-boutiques in some of its stores this year. The concept will be tested in 25 locations, and feature a wider assortment of Apple products than is currently available at Target, according to Bloomberg.

By Chris Watland, [email protected]

By this point, most chain stores have embraced digital marketing to reach customers through regular email communications and with a social media presence on Facebook and Twitter. And retail already outpaces many other industries in its sophisticated collection of customer purchase and loyalty program data.

Being a celebrity athlete creates all sort of opportunities to leverage one’s likeness through licensing deals, oftentimes in ways that are inconsistent with the image and accomplishments that propelled the athlete to greatness.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — eBay announced that it has partnered with Toys“R”Us, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Aeropostale for a new incentive for you to spend money online and in stores.

According to the companies, when customers spend $100 online using PayPal at Toys“R”Us or Babies“R”Us on eBay, ToysRUs.com, BabiesRUs.com, Dicks Sporting Goods or Aeropostale.com, they will earn $10 to shop in-store.