Marketing Tactics

By Joseph R. Bona, [email protected]

Shanghai, China -- Mattel announced Monday that it has closed its much-acclaimed Barbie flagship store, which opened March 2009 in Shanghai.

The El Segundo, Calif.-based toy manufacturer, which officially closed the store’s doors on Monday, cited a change in strategy as reason for the closure. Mattel said in a statement that it plans to promote the Barbie brand via road tour -- on a pink tour bus.

Marina Del Ray, Calif. -- Cooking.com and recipe video website Good Bite announced that Cooking.com will be building and managing a new online kitchenware store for Good Bite.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Sears Holdings has joined other retailers, including Barnes & Noble, in inviting Amazon.com affiliates to work with it following Amazon's response to recent legislation related to collected taxes on e-commerce purchases.

NEW YORK — EcoTools, an earth-friendly bath and beauty products brand, has made its way to Walmart.

Last month, a variety of EcoTools cosmetic brushes lined the shelves of Walmart stores throughout the country. EcoTools also introduced the EcoTools everyday collection 6-piece brush set exclusively at Walmart. The collection, which comes in a hemp case, includes an angled blush brush, an angle eyeliner brush, concealer brush, eye shading brush and detailer/lip brush. The 6-piece set retails for $10.98.