Marketing Tactics

Purchase, N.Y. -- As part of the 2013 launch of a commitment to responsible retailing, the Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC is making efforts that reduce waste in stores and improve efficiencies in energy uses in both new and existing stores.

By 2020, the company has set a goal of getting to "zero waste," diverting 90% of waste going to landfills and incinerations through the expansion of its organic recycling program and new opportunities for recycling cardboard, plastic, paper, and single stream recycling.

General Mills’ third-quarter sales and operating profit reflected lower volumes. The company said weak food industry trends during the period as a result of a severe winter affected its results, as did increased consumer marketing and merchandising investment in its U.S. yogurt business.

Net sales for the quarter ended Feb. 23 totaled $4.38 billion, down 1% from year-ago levels. Third-quarter net earnings totaled $411 million and diluted earnings per share totaled 64 cents per share.  

Tejon Ranch, Calif. — Slated to open in August, The Outlets at Tejon has announced the appointment of Brian P. Hassett as the new center’s general manager. Hassett brings more than 25 years of experience in the retail industry — more than 10 of them focused on outlet retail — to the post.

Wilson Sporting Goods is celebrating a century of sport with the launch of its “100 Venues in 100 Days” contest.

Participants will have the chance to win daily prizes as well as a grand prize trip to the 2014 U.S. Open Tennis Tournament in New York City.

“Wilson celebrates athletes at every level, from the backyard to the professional player,” said Tom Gruger, VP of marketing. “To kick off our 100th year, we will celebrate our partnership with these athletes as we look forward to the next century of champions.”

New York – Barnes & Noble subsidiary Nook Media LLC, is making its Nook Press self-publishing platform available to authors and publishers in the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Authors and publishers in these countries can now upload and start selling their books in these territories through Nook devices and free Nook reading apps, allowing them to reach millions of Nook customers around the globe.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. plans to open five franchise-operated Old Navy stores in the Philippines in 2014. The first two Old Navy stores will open in Manila in March and there are plans to open three more stores in the second half of the year for a total of five Old Navy stores in 2014.

The first of two Old Navy stores, a dedicated three-story building, will open in the heart of Manila’s fashion and shopping district, Bonifacio High Street, on March 22. The second store will open in the prominent Glorietta mall on March 29.

Retailers have been known to employ all sorts of clever devices when commemorating a grand opening, but shapewear retailer Spanx takes the practice to a new level.

Home Depot was known to saw a board in half in lieu of a traditional ribbon cutting and outdoor retailer Gander Mountain once had an archer with a razor tipped arrow sever the ribbon. When Spanx opens its fourth retail location on April 11 at the International Plaza mall in Tampa the company plans to commemorate the occasion with a hosiery cutting as part of a “jiggle-free jubilee.”

Walmart has extended an electronics trade-in program to the gaming category and will introduce the sale of refurbished games later this year in a move that could boost traffic to the entertainment department.