Marketing Tactics

NEW YORK — Iconix Brand Group has acquired the Umbro brand from Nike for $225 million in cash.

The purchase price was funded with Iconix’s recently completed $600 million securitized financing facility, which gives the company flexibility to pursue other deals. Iconix chairman and CEO Neil Cole alluded to that possibility in commenting on the Umbro acquisition.

Denton, Texas -- RED Development announced it will bring Dillard’s department store to Rayzor Ranch Town Center, the new, open-air retail and entertainment destination now under development in Denton, Texas.  

Dillard’s, being planned as a 126,000-sq.-ft. store, is the first anchor department store named for the new project since RED became an owner and assumed the management of the property in 2010.  

LOS ANGELES — Kim, Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian’s eyewear line available through Sears Optical is now available online as well as in stores.

The Kardashian Kollection Eyewear line was introduced at retail locations nationwide in July of this year and includes eyeglasses and sunglasses.

Same store sales in November at Target plunged unexpectedly while apparel discounters and Costco kept humming and Kroger extended its string of consecutive comp increases to nine years.

The nations second largest grocer this week reported a third quarter profit, excluding some non-recurring items, of 46 cents that was three cents better than analysts forecast and its identical store sales increased by 3.2%. Total sales including fuel for the period increased 5.9% to $21.8 billion.

The modest sales decline Party City reported for the five week period ended November wasn’t all that bad considering the unfavorable circumstances the company faced.

Sales declined 1.4% to $358 million and same store sale declined 0.6% at permanent stores and 11.9% at temporary locations, the company said.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Fruit of the Loom has chosen Crispin Porter + Bogusky to oversee and manage advertising for the Fruit of the Loom, Vanity Fair and Russell Athletic brands.

The leading international, vertically integrated basic apparel and athletic goods company’s brands include Fruit of the Loom, Vanity Fair, Russell Athletic and Spalding. It is an independent wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, which is chaired by Warren Buffett.

It’s common to see BMWs, Mercedes and other luxury makes in Walmart parking lots, but a new study reported on by Ad Age reveals wealthier shoppers prefer Amazon.com

New York -- Shopper sentiment tracker NetBase said that, since Black Friday, it has been tracking the changes in shopper moods for 10 retailers with its Holiday Shopping Mood Meter.

The company found that Kohl’s was No. 1 more often than Amazon, Walmart was the only brand with a net negative sentiment, and Old Navy broke the Top 5 only once.