Marketing Tactics

Restoration Hardware plans to open full line design galleries in Greenwich, Atlanta and Los Angeles in 2014, and is currently in negotiations to open more than 30 locations in other key markets. The next generation full line design galleries will be larger and showcase the company’s assortment and new businesses.

Dayton, Ohio -- Retail design and brand strategy firm Interbrand Design Forum, the retail division of Interbrand, said it has hired Dirk Defenbaugh as managing director.

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in August 2012 versus August 2013 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains. A home improvement promotional arms race between Home Depot and Lowe’s appears to be taking place: Lowe’s saw year-over-year increases of 100%, 75% and 184.4% across circular page count, ad block per page count and ad block per circular count, respectively. Despite these large gains, Lowe’s still appears to be playing catch-up to Home Depot, which continued to run more ad blocks per page and per circular than Lowe’s.

Bentonville, Ark. – Starting Sept. 21, consumers will be able to receive immediate credit toward the purchase of a new smartphone when they trade in their current smartphone at more than 3,600 participating Wal-Mart stores and Sam's Club locations across the U.S. Wal-Mart's trade-in program offers an immediate credit from $50 to $300 for more than 100 smartphones.

New York - The importance of brand has increased tenfold for consumers in the past 17 years, currently standing at 30%. When the first wave of the Brand Keys Fashion Index was conducted in 1996, only 3% of U.S. apparel buyers felt fashion brands and their associated logos were of increasing importance to consumers.

Aliso Viejo, Calif. — Honduras has welcomed Johnny Rockets to its first location in the country at City Mall Tegucigalpa. It is the second Central American restaurant — the first opened in Panama City in 2010. The new restaurant spans 2,266 sq. ft. plus a 365-sq.-ft. terrace. It seats 105 diners.

The largest shopping center in the Honduran capital, City Mall features more than 300 shops and restaurants; eight Cinemark theatres; and parking for 1,500 cars.

SPARKS, Md. — McCormick is appealing to football fans who enjoy tailgating, and identified the Top 10 Tastiest Tailgate cities in the U.S. to promote its Grill Mates seasoning.

In a joint venture with Bert Sperling, a leading "Best Places" researcher, McCormick Grill Mates analyzed 31 cities in the U.S. with professional football teams to identify the Top 10 in the country.

Winston-Salem, N.C. - In collaboration with Russian restaurateur and franchise partner Arkady Novikov, owner and operator of LLC Doughnuts Cafe, the first Krispy Kreme doughnut shop in Moscow is scheduled to open on Sept. 12.