Marketing Tactics

Hoffman Estates, Ill. - Sears Holdings on Friday joined the growing list of retailers and other companies severing ties with Southern celebrity chef Paula Deen in the wake of the controversy regarding her use of a racial slur. Both Sears and Kmart sold Paula Deen products.

“After careful consideration of all available information, we have made the decision to phase out all products tied to the brand,” Sears said in a statement. “We will continue to evaluate the situation. Our members’ needs will be given first priority.’

To counteract weak demand for conventional office products, Staples is peddling some decidedly non-traditional office products as part of an expanded assortment billed as, "summer celebration essentials."

The company is offering condiments such as ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard along with grills, coolers, bottle openers, patio furniture, salty snacks and disposable cutlery to appeal to Fourth of July shoppers.

San Francisco - Converse has opened its first Northern California location — and its largest store to date — in San Francisco’s Union Square shopping district. With 8,200 sq.ft. of selling space, the store offers a comprehensive assortment of Converse footwear, apparel and accessories, along with an interactive personalization process for designing one-of-a-kind Converse sneakers and clothing.

SAN FRANCISCO — Converse is adding to its roster of stores in key metropolitan areas with the opening of its first location in San Francisco, bringing the leading footwear brand's total of inline locations in the U.S. to five.

Canton, Mass. -- Baskin Robbins has announced plans to develop locations in major metropolitan areas across South Africa and Germany.

The company is seeking qualified, multi-unit franchisee candidates to develop the brand with an initial focus in South Africa in the south, north and east regions. In Germany, the company will focus initially on Berlin and Munich followed by Hamburg, Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

Welcome to the new and improved Chain Store Age! We've changed the size of our magazine (yes, the pages are bigger — it's not your imagination), and updated the style and size of our type fonts with the goal of making CSA more reader-friendly and allowing us to incorporate more visuals going forward. We've also introduced a new logo, one that better reflects retailing's omnichannel environment.

The Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Ark. hosted the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G last week, and this week the golf tournament gave regional charity Cancer Challenge its largest gift ever.

In honor of its 20th anniversary this week, the Cancer Challenge received a $100,000 contribution from Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.

SPARKS, Md. — McCormick & Company reported sales and profit results for the second quarter ended May 31, at which time the company completed its acquisition of Wuhan Asia Pacific Condiments, a leading bouillon manufacturer in central China.