Marketing Tactics

WAYNE, N.J. — Toys"R"Us has launched its annual nationwide fundraising campaign to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. The company has once agained teamed up with Shaquille O'Neal to encourage customers to "Give Back with Shaq."

Cincinnati — With a focus on increasing square footage and building its presence in both new and existing markets, Kroger is poised for growth in 2013.

LOS ANGELES — Celliant, a maker of textile technology for apparel, has partnered with Dick's Sporting Goods to launch a new line of Koppen men's and women's baselayers, which features Celliant technology and is available exclusively at Dick's Sporting Goods.

The month saw drop in the number of circulars released to the market by the majority of retailers. However, interestingly we saw flyers increasing pages compared with last year for most of the retailers in the year over year comparison.

Walmart had a significant increase in both the number of circulars as well as number of pages when compared with same time last year.

NEW YORK — Fashion designer Michael Kors has donated $5 million to God's Love We Deliver (God's Love), the New York-based non-profit organization that cooks and delivers individually tailored meals daily to people living with severe illnesses throughout New York City, Newark and Hudson County. This gift serves as one of the largest single donations to a social services organization in New York history. 

Houston — Waste Management has partnered with Sam's Club to provide membership discounts to small and medium business customers, allowing them access to Sam’s Club’s savings on bulk merchandise and supplies.

TOWSON, Md. — Black and Decker is partnering with Richard Petty Motorsports and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Marcos Ambrose. The Black and Decker branded No. 9 Ford Fusion will race at four primary races: Kansas on Oct. 21, Martinsville on Oct. 28, Phoenix on Nov. 11 and Homestead-Miami on Nov. 18.

LONDON — Showcasing its brands at Brand Licensing Europe this week, Hasbro said it is well-positioned to expand its retail presence in new and emerging markets throughout Europe with innovative and trend-forward licensing programs across many licensing categories. This growth has been driven by Hasbro expanding its U.K. and France licensing teams while at the same time opening new offices and further developing relationships with leading retailers in Russia, Germany, Poland, Turkey, and Spain over the past year.