Retailer Campaigns

Fort Worth, Texas -- Trademark Property said Wednesday it has purchased two retail centers located directly across from La Palmera mall in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The 15.5-acre Staples Center, built in the 1980s, and the 3.8-acre Mt. Vernon Center, built in the 1940s, will undergo rebranding along with a major redesign and renovation, scheduled to begin late 2012 with completion slated for 2013.

The redeveloped center, to be named The Shops at La Palmera, will total approximately 200,000 sq. ft.

Plenty of televisions in Northwest Arkansas will be tuned to CNBC the evening of April 26. That’s when the financial news network airs a one-hour special called, “The Costco Craze: Inside the Warehouse Giant.”

CNBC has turned its cameras on Walmart in the past, twice actually, and more recently Best Buy and Target. Previews for the show on Costco promise to uncover the science and secrets behind the Costco craze.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bi-Lo and Coca-Cola have partnered with the USO to support its Operation Phone Home program, which connects troops deployed overseas with their families back home through, among other things, a private phone network. For every rotisserie meal bundle sold at all Bi-Lo stores, Coca-Cola will donate $1 to OPH, which buys troops about 20 minutes of talk time.

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. — BJ's Wholesale Club is capitalizing on the growing demand for locally-grown produce by launching its "Farm to Club" program in each of its 195 clubs in 15 states. Rolling out this spring and summer, the Farm to Club program includes a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables that will be clearly marked with a special "Farm to Club, Locally Grown" seal.

In March there was a decline in the number of circulars overall, however, pages per flyer increased. The increase in pages was primarily due to a significant increase in Walmart and Toys"R"Us page counts. Much of the promotional activity was driven by Easter falling earlier in April as compared to 2011.

Walmart distributed an additional four-page flyer in the week of 3/11/2012; they also circulated two flyers instead one in most of the markets in the week of 3/4/2012. These additional flyers accounted for the increase total pages as compared with last year.

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners announced two new hires in marketing for the Phoenix and Mobile, Ala., offices.

Susan Riddle and Kelly Anderson have joined the team as marketing coordinators and will be responsible for executing the national and local marketing strategies.

Riddle comes to SRS from Rowland Constructors where she was the marketing coordinator/executive assistant to the managing partner. Anderson joins SRS from Pilot Catastrophe where she served as an independent contractor for Allstate Insurance.
 

By Steve Friedman, [email protected]

If you’re like me and watch more TV than you should, you’ve probably seen the unusual new Target commercials with the hot air balloon. These “Color Changes Everything” spots feature a troupe of lively individuals landing in a hot air balloon (which, when seen from above, sports a gigantic version of the distinctive Target bullseye logo) and cavorting through an urban setting in acrobatic fashion, magically transforming the clothing, accessories and household goods of the people they encounter into stuff that is brighter, hipper and generally cooler and more fun.

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Bi-Lo noted last week that three of its locations along the South Carolina coastline had been refreshed in March.

“Bi-Lo believes in offering our customers the highest possible standards and this remodel program speaks directly to that,” stated Bi-Lo president Michael Byars.

The enhanced departments in the updated stores feature improved freshness, variety and quality, including:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Walmart Foundation has joined with The Band Perry, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and four of the nation's largest food companies — General Mills, ConAgra Foods, Kraft Foods and Kellogg Company — to fight hunger this spring. At an event in Nashville, leaders of this effort launched a campaign that will enable millions of Americans the opportunity to get involved by shopping at Walmart or visiting the company's Facebook page today through April 30.