Displays & Signs

Real estate acquisition and management firm Jamestown has announced a comprehensive rebranding and revitalization program for its recently acquired property, Alameda Towne Centre, a 594,000-sq.-ft. open-air retail center on Alameda Island, Calif.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway celebrated National Picnic Day on Monday by breaking the Guinness World Record for longest picnic table and debuting its new private-label brand.

The record-setting picnic, held at the Marina Green in San Francisco, featured Safeway's Open Nature, a newly launched line of all-natural foods that includes meat and poultry, bread, yogurt, ice cream and salad dressing products, that were prepared by Food Network chef Tyler Florence. Safeway also succeeded at building a table exceeding 305 ft.

STOCKHOLM — H&M announced that it is collaborating with Versace for its autumn 2011 designer collection. Designed by its creative director Donatella Versace, the exclusive collection will look back to the vibrant heritage of the brand, full of leather, print, colour and exuberance in exclusive materials at fantastic H&M prices, according to the company. The collection will include ranges for women, men and selected pieces for the home. It will be available from Nov. 17 in around 300 stores worldwide, as well as on-line.

Discount grocer Aldi has made its U.S. mall debut, opening in Westfield Chicago Ridge, an 800,000-sq.-ft. enclosed shopping center in suburban Chicago Ridge, Ill. The mall is a property of The Westfield Group.

Brightly lit and colorful, the 20,000-sq.-ft. Aldi resembles a prototypical Aldi in most respects.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target announced that an exclusive version of Beyoncé fourth solo album '“4” is now available for pre-order at Target.com/Beyonce and will be offered at Target stores nationwide and online beginning June 28. A digital version of the deluxe edition is available at Target.com. 

New York City -- Even in today’s digital world, a store’s physical appearance matters -- and it does so significantly, according to market research firm Morpace’s latest Omnibus survey. The study shows that consumers form an opinion of a business based on physical presence, which heavily influences their decision whether or not to shop at a location.

Au Bon Pain is updating its brand experience with a new customer-centric design that gives the store a more distinct personality. It also makes the space easier to navigate, with the layout redesigned to speed service.

“We’re taking the customer experience to the next level,” said Sue Morelli, CEO for Au Bon Pain, which operates 318 locations in the United States and internationally. “The response we’ve been getting to our new prototype has validated our decision to accelerate our growth, including going to new markets nationally.”

By Wil Putt, [email protected]