Marketing Tactics

GLENWILLOW, Ohio — Dots, a leading women's fashion retailer, is partnering with Susan G. Komen for the Cure for the fourth consecutive year to help raise awareness of the importance of breast cancer prevention, detection and treatment with the "Girlfriends Giving Back" program.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — In a reverse of the trend to make everything digital, Hasbro is taking some of the most popular digital games and turning them into physical board games.

The toy company has partnered with Zynga to create off line versions of its popular Word With Friends, FarmVille, CityVille and Draw Something brands.The line will hit store shelves this month at most major U.S. retailers and will also be available globally this fall in the United Kingdown, Australia and Canada.

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — Skechers will once again feature Hall of Fame quarterback in its campaign for its "Relaxed Fit" footwear. Montana’s spot will follow Mark Cuban’s televised launch of the brand, and will be followed by Tommy Lasorda’s own unique Relaxed Fit commercial in 2013, as part of a triple sport celebrity campaign for the new men’s comfort footwear collection.

New York -- Research released Monday by Citigroup and published by Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch found that digital sales for the holiday 2012 shopping season are expected to increase at least 20%, thanks to two additional shopping days and amped-up retail marketing efforts.

Boston -- Boot and leather goods manufacturer Frye Co. will open its second U.S. retail location – on Newbury St. in a historic building in Boston’s Back Bay. It joins Frye’s only retail store in the Soho area of New York City.

The 11,000-sq.-ft., three-level flagship store is slated to open spring 2013. It will reflect a fresh vision of Frye’s heritage and commitment to craft, and house specially designed areas showcasing the brand’s product.

Chicago -- An online grocery delivery service is launching "virtual grocery stores" at commuter rail stations across the country.

Peapod.com, owned by the U.S. subsidiary of Dutch supermarket operator Royal Ahold, announced it would launch more than 100 of the virtual grocery stores at commuter rail stations in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, New Jersey and Connecticut. Commuters in the markets Peapod serves spend an hour in transit to and from work each day, according to Census data.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- After launching an enhancement program designed to assist tenants toward ramping up sales, Sembler Co. said it will be expanding its “Sembler Advantage” program portfolio-wide.

Currently, 30 tenants have completed the program, according to Sembler, and have learned tips and techniques for jump-starting a small business, such as incentivizing employees to bring in new business.

Lawrenceville, Ga. -- Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group announced its Discover Mills outlet mall destination in Lawrenceville (Atlanta), Ga., will be renamed Sugarloaf Mills.

The new brand links the center with Sugarloaf Parkway, where it is situated. New exterior signage, website, brochures and other promotional materials will reflect the new name starting in October.
 

Vancouver -- LightHaus  announced that Foot Locker has deployed the LightHaus Visual Customer Intelligence (VCI) solution to measure customer traffic and sales conversion rates at all of its Champs Sports stores in the U.S. and Canada, as well as its Foot Locker Canada stores. The chain is adopting LightHaus VCI in stores in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia.

More than 450 Macy’s stores will feature branded Finish Line footwear departments as the department store retailer and athletic footwear chain have entered into an exclusive agreement.

The deal addresses a major merchandising deficiency for Macy’s as department store retailers are not generally viewed as a destination for athletic footwear. The deal also accelerates growth for Finish Line which currently operates 638 predominantly mall-based U.S. stores compared to Macy’s approximately 840 locations.