Retailer Campaigns

With the start of Back to School promotions, (and taking JCPenney out of the mix) we witnessed increase in page count that was driven mainly by significant increases in Walmart’s and Sears’ page counts.

JCPenney has been drastically altering their promotional strategy in past couple of months, however this month, the store did not promote at all, causing curiosity for many customers. (It should be noted that JCPenney did release circulars the week of July 29th that will be counted in the August report.)

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. reported Friday a bigger-than-expected second-quarter loss of $147 million, compared with net income of $14 million in the same period last year.

Sales plummeted 22% to $3.02 billion from $3.9 billion, and same-store sales tumbled 21.7% after an 18.9% fall in the first quarter. Wall Street had forecast revenue of $3.2 billion.

Facing the investment community on Friday, CEO Ron Johnson admitted to some strategic pricing mistakes, but said he and his team will stay the course.

Columbus, Ohio -- Lane Bryant is launching a new national marketing and brand initiative beginning in September with a comprehensive print ad campaign, a fresh and modern brand logo and color palette, with updated in-store visuals, web and social media sites. This will be the company's first comprehensive branding and marketing effort since 2008.

PHILADELPHIA — Pep Boys has been named as the exclusive distributor of Barett Jackson car care products within its new automobile restoration system.

The three-part automobile restoration system – which includes abrasives, paint and car care – is now available in at Pep Boys locations across the country and offers car collectors and enthusiasts an easy, unique way to complete the restoration of car projects from start to finish.

HUNT VALLEY, Md. — Procter & Gamble’s CoverGirl has partnered with musician P!nk, who recently wrapped her first print advertising campaign with the brand, which will debut in fall.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s Department Stores has partnered with Elle magazine to offer a new line of apparel and accessories designed to raise money and awareness for the fight against breast cancer.

By Jundong Song, [email protected]

In mid-June, Safeway, the number three U.S. food retailer after Wal-Mart and Kroger, capped two years of testing in selected markets and rolled out its enhanced reward program, “Just for U,” chain wide.

It’s a key move in loyalty card programs that all retailers should be watching.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Kmart is responding to changing trends affecting the "back-to-school" experience with a number initiatives designed to meet the needs of its consumers.

According to Kmart, more public schools are requiring uniforms and others are now adopting a year-round school calendar. In response, Kmart has adjusted its approach to back-to-school by increasing the number of stores that sell uniforms and aligning its back-to-school sales periods by region to match that of the local school districts.