Marketing Tactics

New York City -- M&M’s World has made its European debut, opening a 35,000-sq.-ft. store in London’s busy Leicester Square.

NEW YORK — Aeropostale announced that it has launced a rewards program for its children's retail brand, P.S. from Aeropostale. 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — SC Johnson is bringing together its cleaning brands in a new, lightweight sprayer.

The SC Johnson all-in-one cleaning system brings together Windex, Fantastik, Scrubbing Bubbles, Pledge and Shout Carpet. The cleaning system allows users to hold 3-of-the-5 concentrated cleaner cartridges at once in a single hand-held sprayer, allowing consumers to seamlessly clean each room and surface by instantly switching among the cleaners.

SALISBURY, N.C. — Food Lion stores located along the coasts of North Carolina and South Carolina raised more than $100,000 during the retailer's "Thriller on the Griller at the Beach" events.

The events, which took place from June 17 to July 3 at 14 stores, raised $101,149, Food Lion said. The company said that the funds raised surpassed the retailer's goal by nearly $15,000.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Kmart announced that as part of its back-to-school campaign it would offer college students and their parents the ability to reserve purchases by making four payments throughout the summer and allowing students to pick up items at a Kmart store near their campus.

The promotion is part of the retailer's "Epic Year, Epic You!" campaign seeks to meet customers' evolving BTS needs.

SAN FRANCISCO — Levi's announced that its Denizen jeans brand is making its U.S. debut exclusively at Target stores and on Target.com. 

The brand first launched in Asia in 2010 and is available in China, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Singapore and South Korea, in addition to the United States.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart announced that it is making back-to-school shopping even easier with new store improvements. Back-to-school items are now organized, both in stores and online, in one place and categorized by school age group, so families can quickly and easily shop supplies appropriate for their child’s grade, the company reported. Many of the most common school supply list items are located down the center of the back-to-school aisle allowing families to quickly check these items off their list.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. said Tuesday that its veteran marketing chief Mike Boylson has retired from the company. His successor will be selected by newly minted CEO Ron Johnson in what will be the former Apple executive’s first senior-level appointment at J.C. Penney.

Boylson was with the department store chain for more than three decades, the last eight years as chief marketing officer. He said in June he would retire from the company on July 1, according to a J.C. Penney spokeswoman.

New York City -- A survey released Tuesday by Deloitte found that 87.7% of shoppers believe prices in food stores are escalating and 74% say the size of some packaged goods is smaller.

According to Deloitte’s new “2011 Consumer Food and Product Insight Survey,” thanks to higher food prices and rising gas prices, 72.7% of consumers are making fewer trips to the grocery store to save money and 40.8% are purchasing fewer items overall.

North Plainfield, N.J. -- Results of a survey released Tuesday by shopping center owner Levin Management Corp. showed that, while store sales remain relatively flat, the majority of its retail tenants are optimistic about the balance of 2011.