Marketing Tactics

Pacoima, Calif. — A new Vallarta Supermarket will open in Oxnard, Calif., on April 2. It will be Oxnard’s second Vallarta. The 64,000-sq.-ft. location will house a bakery, full-service meat counter, fresh produce, and a hot food deli with in-store dining.

Founded in 1985, Vallarta Supermarkets is an independent chain with 43 locations throughout California.

Grand Rapids, Mich. — HopCat has purchased a former restaurant building on Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit and plans to open its third Michigan location in August. Mid-America Real Estate – Michigan represented the seller, Midtown Detroit Inc., in the transaction. Mid-America in cooperation with M Retail Solutions represented HopCat. A mass transit stop is planned directly in front of the building.

With 130 taps, the Midtown location will be the largest craft beer bar in the state. The bar will also offer wine, liquor and a full menu.

Los Angeles – Pinkberry’s is entering the Japanese market with franchisee Royal Holdings. Japan is the 20th country where Pinkberry will operate stores.

Royal Holdings who operates 722 restaurants across several brands, both full service and QSR concepts. The partnership provides growth opportunities in the market for both traditional stores and non-traditional venues, with an initial development plan for 50 stores.

The retail and shopper marketing firm Integer Group, an Omnicom company, made three key hires to bolster its efforts in the omnichannel world.

Integer said it filled three positions within its Retail Arts Lab which it described as a physical and virtual space where the retail environment is being transformed by intersecting shopper behavior and emerging technologies.

New York -- Pinterest, more than Facebook or YouTube, is supplying the greatest percentage of downstream traffic to retail sites, according to new research from Experian Marketing Services. The company’s 2014 “Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report” also reveals that after visiting Facebook, YouTube or Pinterest, consumers go to Amazon.com more frequently than any other retailer website.

Here’s how the downstream traffic from social media sites to retail sites shapes up in the Experian report:

Oak Brook, Ill. – McDonald’s is offering free McCafe coffee is available during breakfast hours starting March 31 through April 13 in participating restaurants. To kick off the two-week campaign, McDonald's will host "Make Friends with McCafe" sampling events at high traffic locations and transportation hubs in multiple cities across the country.

New York -- H & M, Hennes & Mauritz AB opens its first Hawaii store in Waikiki on March 28. The store features a one-of-a-kind installation featuring artwork of local surf photographers Mike Coots, Sarah Lee and Zak Noyle.

The Waikiki store has hired 160 local employees.

Columbus, Ohio – Lane Bryant opens two new stores in Marlton, N.J., and Odessa, Texas on March 28. The New Jersey store is located at Willow Bridge Plaza and the Texas store is located at Chimney Rock.

Lane Bryant operates 775 stores nationwide and also operates an e-commerce site.

The Crayola Store envelops customers of all ages in a world of color and fun, immersive experiences while celebrating the breadth of Crayola’s product collection.

Restoration Hardware Holdings chairman and CEO Gary Friedman lauded the company’s performance in the fourth quarter and fiscal 2013, saying that RH continued to outperform the home furnishings industry by a wide margin.