Digital Marketing

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Company has launched a new exclusive concept, Modern Bride, in its stores and online.

The concept, a collaboration with Conde Nast, is designed to cater to today's bridal customer. Located in the rear of the fine jewelry department to provide an intimate customer experience, the Modern Bride in-store shops are detailed with their signage, distinctive fixtures, in-case lighting, displays and packaging, along with specially trained associates.

PLANO, Texas -- JCPenney announced the arrival of its exclusive Modern Bride concept in its bridal fine jewelry departments in stores and on jcp.com and modernbride.com. The Modern Bride concept is the result of a collaboration with Conde Nast, publisher of Modern Bride magazine.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.  -- Sears announced that it has launched Beverly Drive, a new plus-size women's fashion line. Making its debut this month, the line will be available at Sears stores nationwide, as well as online at www.Sears.com.

From a licensed product sales standpoint it doesn’t get much better than having the Pittsburgh Steelers and Greenbay Packers squaring off this Sunday in Super Bowl XLV. Both teams are storied franchises, and although they are from relatively small markets, enjoy a national following, which means plenty of shoppers have been out looking to acquire fresh gear for the big game and will be looking to do so in the weeks following the game.

NEW YORK -- Banana Republic announced that as part of its spring 2011 marketing campaign, "Journey in Style," it will debut its first film trailer in select movie theaters and online. The campaign will also be featured in other media including print and store displays.

Developed with AR NEW YORK, Banana Republic's advertising agency of record, the campaign will appear in March publications, supplemented by print, outdoor, online and direct mail. The campaign will debut in store windows beginning Feb. 14.

New York City -- Gap announced a series of changes to help revive its struggling namesake division, which hasn't posted a gain on an annual basis since 2004. The company has tapped the head of its outlet division, Art Peck, to replace Marka Hansen as leader of the Gap brand for North America, effective immediately. Peck is credited with growing the company’s highly-profitable Outlet business for the past three years. He also has been a primary architect of the company’s franchise business and international growth platform.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Sears announced that it has partnered with wedding and entertaining expert David Tutera for the debut of the David Tutera Bridal Jewelry Collection. All settings in the Eternal, Heirloom, Radiance and Legacy designs, of which the premiere collection is comprised, will be available at Sears stores nationwide as well as online at http://www.sears.com/DavidTuteraJewelry beginning Feb. 1.

Feeling confident that the worst is behind them, most retailers are ready to expand again as they turn their attention from steadying the ship to actively growing their business. That’s the big takeaway from Retail Horizons: Benchmarks for 2010, Forecasts for 2011 report. The annual study, sponsored by KPMG and the National Retail Federation Foundation, is widely acknowledged as the definitive state of the industry report.

Corpus Christi, Texas -- La Palmera shopping center, located in Corpus Christi, Texas, said it has launched a new smart phone application designed for all smart phone platforms, including Android, Blackberry and iPhone.

The new app, in development since September 2010, officially launched with a La Palmera Facebook posting to its 6,600 fans.

In the February issue of Chain Store Age, in our focus on mall-based social media (page 52), we referenced a fourth quarter 2010 study by Alexander Babbage, entitled the “Shopping Center Social Media Benchmark Report.”

Following are more details about the study, which found that “social media tools and networks are making it easier for shopping centers to relay information, interact with customers and generally stay connected.”