Marketing Tactics

More than 450 Macy’s stores will feature branded Finish Line footwear departments as the department store retailer and athletic footwear chain have entered into an exclusive agreement.

The deal addresses a major merchandising deficiency for Macy’s as department store retailers are not generally viewed as a destination for athletic footwear. The deal also accelerates growth for Finish Line which currently operates 638 predominantly mall-based U.S. stores compared to Macy’s approximately 840 locations.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears customers can now engage the services of Jackson Hewitt for tax preparation for the 2013 season.

Build-A-Bear Workshop has gone high-tech. The company has debuted a new store design that combines its signature hands-on bear-making experience with innovative technology that’s right in line with today’s digitally savvy kids. The new format, which premiered in Build-A-Bear Workshop’s renovated location at West County Center, St. Louis, also provides more interactive options to keep shoppers coming back.

Pricing studies conducted this week by Wall Street analysts yielded familiar results.

Deutsche Bank analyst Charles Grom and Citigroup analyst Deb Weinswig issued reports this week comparing Walmart’s prices to dollar stores and conventional supermarkets and Target.

Cincinnati -- Macy's Inc. announced on Friday that Finish Line Inc. would be the department store retailer’s exclusive athletic footwear partner, opening in-store shops in more than 450 Macy’s stores nationwide. The merchandise will also be available online at macys.com.

Under the agreement, Finish Line will be Macy’s exclusive partner for men’s, women’s and kids athletic footwear and Macy’s will be the exclusive host for Finish Line-branded in-store shops.

During a year that saw Dollar General open its 10,000th store and AutoZone opens its 5,000th store, rent-to-own retailer Aaron’s has opened its 2,000th location.

The Atlanta-based retailer specializing in the sales and lease ownership of residential furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, designated a store in the Bronx, New York as its 2,000th location.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — OfficeMax is easing the burden felt by many teachers through its  sixth annual A Day Made Better teacher surprise events on Tuesday, October 2nd.

On Oct. 2, OfficeMax will surprise 1,000 teachers each with $1,000 worth of school supplies for their classrooms.  To identify recipient schools in need across the country, OfficeMax partnered with the nonprofit organization AdoptAClassroom.org. Principals of participating schools nominated teachers that exemplify passion, dedication and innovation in the classroom.

New York -- Uniqlo on Friday will open its largest mall store in the world, in Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus, N.J. The two-level, 43,000-sq.-ft. store will serve as the prototype for the Japanese retailer¹s U.S. mall expansion.

The new Uniqlo replaces an Old Navy store and has its own separate entrance to the parking lot as well as a traditional mall entrance. A large LCD monitor display at the mall entrance will feature special interactive games and other content to engage shoppers.