Marketing Tactics

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. announced that Canada’s Joe Fresh brand will launch in J.C. Penney stores beginning March 15, with a collection of modern basics for women. The collection will be displayed in 750-sq.-ft. to 2,500-sq.-ft. dedicated shops in nearly 700 JCP stores.
 

Washington, D.C. -- Nearly three-quarters (73.3%) of consumers say their spending plans are taking a hit due to the recent payroll tax changes, according to NRF’s 2013 Tax Returns Survey conducted by BIGinsight.
 
When asked how the new federal tax laws have affected spending, saving or budgeting of their households, nearly six in 10 (58.2%) of those polled say their plans have been either somewhat or greatly impacted. Specifically, nearly half (45.7%) say they will spend less overall, and 35.6% will watch for sales more often.
 

South Bay, Calif. -- South Bay Galleria marketing manager Sherilyn Haddon announced that the Los Angeles County mall will add three new stores to its list of retailers, including Aeropostale and P.S. From Aeropostale.

Tutti Frutti yogurt will also open at the mall.

The P.S. From Aeropostale store will be directly connected to the new Aeropostale store; both are slated to open in May 2013. Tutti Frutti is expected to open at Center Court in March 2013.
 

Georgetown, Texas -- Sport Clips Haircuts announced Wednesday that it will open its first store in Canada on March 1.

The Burlington, Ontario, franchised location is the first of three planned for the city by master franchisor Sport Clips Canada.
 
In addition to Burlington, Sport Clips Canada currently has 26 stores under contract to open throughout Ontario and British Columbia. Sport Clips Canada said it plans to open 50 stores within the next three years, 100 stores in five years and 200 stores in 10 years.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A sticky situation just got stickier.

Elmer’s Products has introduced Elmer’s ProBond Advanced adhesive, which is being promoted as a multipurpose glue that’s as strong as a polyurethane competitor, but without the foamy mess.

SEATTLE — Amazon.com has launched the Entertainment Collectibles Store (amazon.com/entertainmentcollectibles) which offers more than 350,000 unique and rare collectibles, including memorabilia from Academy Award and Grammy winning artists and honorees. 

Amazon customers can browse collectibles by item type, entertainment type, autographed, price and year to find everything from classic photographs and original manuscripts to signed artist contracts and autographed movie posters.

ATLANTA — Ingrid Saunders Jones, SVP global community connections for the Coca-Cola Company and chair of the Coca-Cola Foundation will retire after 30 years with the company, effective June 1. 

A well-respected global leader, Jones joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1982 and has held roles of increasing responsibility around the Company’s corporate giving and community outreach. She has served as Chair of The Coca-Cola Foundation since 1991.

McLean, Va. -- Capital One Financial Corp. said Tuesday that it will sell off its Best Buy portfolio of private-label and co-branded credit card accounts. Current loan balances total about $7 billion.

The pair is severing their ties earlier than expected – the break-even sale of the portfolio to Citi is expected to finalize in third quarter 2013.

While I enjoy reading the annual sales predictions and yearly retail real estate outlook columns published each year, they often have a tendency to get bogged down in the details. When forecasting in the medium- to long-term, it’s often best to focus on the big-picture trends — an approach that not only avoids the all-too-common problem of missing the forest for the trees, but provides important insights about where the industry may be headed, not just in six or 12 months, but in six or 12 years.

New York -- Best Buy Co. is making its holiday price-matching guarantee a year-round program. Taking aim against the increasingly popular practice of “showrooming,” the consumer electronics chain will match online prices starting March 3.

Best Buy’s permanent price match has been expanded to cover almost all categories of merchandise. It does not cover phones purchased under contract.

Best Buy will also decrease its merchandise return policy from 30 days to 15 days