Displays & Signs

It’s all about the ladies this week at Target as the retailer’s promotional emphasis shifted to spring-time seasonal apparel and related accessories and categories. A quartet of youthful and exuberant models wearing Mossimo and Merona brand dresses were featured on the cover of the weekly ad at the sale price of $17.99. A slightly younger demographic is targeted on the page two and three spread with two groups of three girls sporting Xhilaration and Mossimo Supply Co. styles for $17.99.

In a move to boost its competitive footing against the warehouse home centers, Ace Hardware Corp. is planning a paint-and-primer-in-one launch later this year.

Ace executives describe the paint as a "flagship new product" by providing convenience and ease of application. The branding of the new product will be unveiled when the launch occurs, possibly during the third quarter of this year.

New York City -- Modell’s Sporting Goods announced the opening of the company’s 147th store this past weekend with the grand opening of a new 8,451-sq.-ft. store located in the Interstate Shopping Center in Ramsey, N.J.

Orlando, Fla. -- Olive Garden plans to remodel or refresh more than half of its 700 plus restaurants across the United States to its new Tuscan farmhouse-inspired design.

Called “Via Tuscany,” the updated décor includes new tables, chairs and booths, a palette of warm, rustic tones and design elements of a farmhouse in Tuscany. Other updates include new window treatments.

SECAUCUS, N.J. -- Panasonic announced that it is giving consumers the chance to experience its 2011 line-up of home entertainment products during its six-week, 15-market "Panasonic Experience Amazing Tour."

The tour starts April 4 in New York and will make stops in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, DC over the next five weeks, through May 15.  

MINNEAPOLIS -- Target announced that as part of its Earth Month celebration, it is offering customers the chance to win a "Refresh Your Nest" home makeover worth up to $50,000 with the help of LEED accredited designer Sabrina Soto, as well as hundreds of other sustainable prizes. Guests can log on to Target.com/Eco to enter the sweepstakes.

The Target.com/Eco site also features sustainable products for purchase, sustainable decorating tips from Soto and coupons for use at Target stores.

Bethesda, Md. -- Retail real estate alliance X Team International said it has named a new partner, Bethesda, Md.-based Streetsense.

Beyond traditional landlord and tenant representation, Streetsense offers architecture, interior design, branding, marketing and merchandising strategies to entrepreneurs, retailers, developers and public sector entities. 

Las Vegas -- Boulder, Colo.-based Wenger took top honors as Store of the Year in the Association for Retail Environments’ (A.R.E.) annual retail design competition. It’s the first U.S. retail outpost for the company, which is best known as the maker of the Swiss Army Knife.

The Target brand was a big winner over the weekend, as Dario Franchitti piloted the number10 car of Target Chip Gansassi Racing to victory in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The race through the streets of downtown St. Petersburg, Fl, consisted of 100 laps over a 1.8 mile, 14 turn course, and the distinctive red and white Target car was featured extensively during television coverage. To watch highlights of the race, click here.

Even though Target’s efforts in the electronics area have been overshadowed of late by all the action in food and consumables, the company has consistently positioned itself to become a more relevant player in the space. The most recent example involves expansion of a trade-in program that coincides with the launch of the Nintendo 3DS hand-held gaming system. The product is a big deal due to some new technology that lets users experience 3D without the annoying glasses, but the product is expensive ($249), and that doesn’t included the added cost of games.