Marketing Tactics

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Sam's Club announced that Dale Talde, celebrity chef and owner of Talde and the soon-to-be opened Pork Slope Restaurant, both in New York, joins the Sam's Club Simply Delicious Chef Brigade to help families serve up healthy, restaurant-quality meals in their own backyard.

NEW YORK — Days of cutting back-to-school spending are over, as nearly 9-in-10 consumers plan to spend the same or more, according to Deloitte's annual back-to-school survey.

El Paso, Texas -- Best Buy Co. has signed a lease to open a 37,740-sq.-ft. store at The Fountains at Farah, a new power-lifestyle shopping center located in El Paso, Texas.

The shopping center, a Centergy Retail project, is under construction and planned to open in 600,000 sq. ft. in fall 2013.
 

Denver -- National Grocers by Vitamin Cottage said Tuesday that its first Arizona store – in Flagstaff – has opened, and will be joined by two additional stores located in Sedona and Prescott.

The privately owned regional grocery chain, which operates 56 stores in 12 states, incorporated environmentally friendly elements into the Flagstaff store. Energy-efficient features include motion light sensors, 100% post-consumer content tiles, polished concrete flooring and commercial-grade LED lights.  And the chain is 100% shopping bag free.

J.C. Penney Co.’s visual transformation has begun. The company has rolled out three shop concepts to nearly 700 stores nationwide. The shops, the first wave of many more to come, are dedicated to three brands: Levi’s, I Jeans by Buffalo, and The Original Jean Co. 

Click here to take a video tour of the new shops.
 

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney on Aug. 1, will open in-store shop concepts for three brands—Levi's, i jeans by Buffalo and The Original Arizona Jean Co.—in nearly 700 stores nationwide. To coordinate with the back-to-school season, the retailer also is offering free haircuts for kids in its salons in the month of August.

New York -- A survey released Tuesday by Deloitte found that shoppers are prepped to spend on back-to-school items, and plan to use their mobile phones in the process.

San Mateo, Calif. -- A survey by The E-tailing Group and MyBuys found that consumers are more comfortable sharing data with retailers than they are with social networks, especially if it enhances the shopping experience.

I’ll say this for Ron Johnson: He has turned staid J.C. Penney into the most talked-about retailer in the nation. The company accounted for five of the 10 most-viewed stories on this website in the first half of 2012 (see story). And industry analysts and consultants can’t stop speculating on the chain’s fortunes, in print, on the web and on television.

HOUSTON — Retail financial services provider Cardtronics announced that its Harris Teeter- located ATMs will be branded by PNC Bank. The ATMs will be surcharge-free fro PNC Bank customers. Harris Teeter operates a regional chain of supermarkets, with its base of operations in North Carolina. Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATM) is the world's largest retail ATM owner.