Marketing Tactics

New York -- Lane Bryant has announced the opening of three new stores and one relocation of an existing store.

The specialty apparel retailer plans to open a new store in the Miracle Mile Shopping Center in Monroeville, Pa., on Oct. 25, with the grand opening running through the weekend.

Lane Bryant also plans to open a new store at Rushmore Crossing in Rapid City, S.D. on Oct. 25, with the grand opening continuing through Sunday.

New York -- Putting social media functions entirely within control of marketing and communications is a mistake, according to a new study conducted by Tata Consultancy Services, a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, of over 60. Forty-five percent of respondents in North America said marketing controls social media, but most companies aren’t satisfied with this structure.

Atlanta -- Among the affluent households, the average expenditure for December holiday gifts in 2013 is estimated to be $2,175 down 2.8% from 2012, according to a new survey of the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households by the American Affluence Research Center. However, affluent households spent in 2012 almost 7% more than they had anticipated in the 2012 survey, supporting the premise that people often tend to spend more for gifts than they had planned.
 

Caty, N.C. – Consumers have somewhat contradictory desires for greater data privacy and for businesses to have detailed insight into their personal needs, and also have seen improvement in how businesses use personal data. According to a new study from analytics technology provider SAS, 71% of 1,260 respondents surveyed said that recent news about government access to personal data increased their privacy concerns.

Starbucks Corp. unveiled its new retail format, Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar, with the debut location opening on Manhattan's  East Side. The store features a wide variety of hot brewed and iced teas, tea fusion beverages and  tea-related merchandise. It also offers a range of food items, from salads to flatbreads to pastries and other baked goods, with a bakery-like presentations.

Plano, Texas -- J. C. Penney Company has teamed up with the shopping app, Shopkick. Shoppers will be able to earn "kicks," Shopkick’s proprietary reward currency, along with special offers from Penney, when visiting the retailer’s store locations across the country.

San Diego – Petco has opened its first store in Mexico and announced plans for continued expansion in Mexico and Latin America through a previously announced joint venture with Grupo Gigante of Mexico. Together, the companies plan to open as many as 50 Petco stores in Mexico and Latin America by 2020.

Shanghai, China -- The Walt Disney Co. announced plans to open its first store in mainland China, in Shanghai. The 53,000-sq.-ft. Disney Store, expected to open in early 2015, will be the company’s largest store to date.

The store will be located in Shanghai's financial hub. It will feature an approximate 10,800-sq.-ft. retail space, and a Disney-themed outdoor plaza area that can be used to host outdoor events. The surrounding area has foot traffic of more than 40 million visitors a year.

The Walt Disney Company said it would enter China in 2015 with a new retail location planned for Shanghai that measures 10,800-sq.-ft. on a 53,000-sq.-ft. site in the heart of the city’s financial district.
Disney currently operates 340 worldwide locations but until this week’s announcement in Shanghai had steered clear of opening stores in mainland China.

Julie Gardner, former chief marketing officer at Kohl’s, is the newest board of Cardtronics, the world’s largest retail ATM owner.

Cardtronics operates a vast network of more than 80,000 ATMs at locations throughout the United States and internationally.

Gardner spent 14 years at Kohl’s and most recently served as EVP and chief marketing officer. Prior to Kohl’s, Gardner was with the Eckerd Corp., a regional drug store chain that was eventually acquired by CVS.