Marketing Tactics

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.  - Raymour & Flanigan announced the arrival of the Kathy Ireland Home brand to its collection of furniture products. The line will be available in the first quarter of 2011.

PLANO, Texas - JCPenney announced that it will opens its doors at 7 a.m. on Dec. 26 for its biggest After Christmas Sale ever. Customers visiting JCPenney the day after Christmas can find extended store hours, free shipping offers on jcp.com and over 100 “Doorbuster” specials from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., highlighted in JCPenney’s expanded 48-page sales circular, the company reported. 

Competition in the toy category is intense every holiday season, but it seems to have been ratcheted up a few notches this year, and Target was one of the companies doing the ratcheting. The company’s aggressive pricing moves put it in close proximity to Walmart early in the season and more recently Target’s toys were less expensive than Walmart’s, according to a pricing survey conducted by Citigroup retail analyst Deb Weinswig.

NEW YORK - OgilvyAction, the activation arm of Ogilvy & Mather, and Malone Advertising, the retail marketing unit of JWT, both part of WPP Group,have announced a joint venture in North America to form the first fully integrated, end-to-end shopper marketing and experiential marketing agency.

San Diego - Internet presence management firm Red Door Interactive said Monday that Quiksilver has selected it to help launch its new line of girls’ apparel and accessories.

According to Red Door, the fashion and action sports brand will implement an internet presence strategy, developed and executed by Red Door, designed to drive awareness and traffic to Quiksilver’s flagship stores and niche retailers by individuals who will engage with the brand.

The small ad was a little lost on the bottom of page 36 of Target’s 40-page holiday circular this week, but there among an offering of floor care products was a reminder of a Facebook initiative that could be worth as much as $50,000 to the Kids In Need Foundation. The ad encouraged readers to visit Facebook.com/TargetGiveJoy to create a wish list of up to five items for a chance to win a gift card equal in value to those items with Kids In Need receiving a $5 donation for each wish list submitted up to a total of $50,000. The program ends at midnight on Christmas.

Fortune has released its list of the top 10 Fortune 500 stock performers for 2010, and Dillard's is the lone retailer on the list.

Ranked at number 10, Dillard's, which is ranked at 348 on the Fortune 500, posted a year-to-date stock performance improvement of 97% and a market cap of $2.1 billion.

According to the report, Dillard's sold more merchandise this November than last year, with sales totaling almost $470 million for the month. That marked a 7% increase over last year.

CHICAGO - Staples and the Chicago Bears have announced that McHenry-based Frost Dental Lab and M&M Custom Flooring of New Lenox are the final “enshrinees” to be named to the Staples Small Business Hall of Fame. These Chicagoland small businesses join previous winners Markatay Inc. and Tasty Catering to make up the Staples Small Business Hall of Fame Class of 2010.