Marketing Tactics

Denver — AmCap, Brixmor Property Group and Kimco have selected the Legend Retail Group to represent nearly 2 million sq. ft. of gross leasing area at 10 different retail centers across the Denver metropolitan area. The centers include:

AmCap
• Market Square, at Havana and Mississippi (120,498 sq. ft.; 12,410 sq. ft. available)
• Market Square, at Wadsworth and Jewell (92,759 sq. ft.; 8,090 sq. ft. available)
 
Brixmor Property Group

Despite the massive data breach that hurt Target’s fourth quarter, people are not staying away from the retailer. According to a Reuters report, the company saw a dramatic improvement in traffic in the first quarter compared to its late fourth-quarter trends.

The Boston Consulting Group has named former P&G vice chairman Dimitri Panayotopoulos as a senior adviser in its consumer practice.

In his 37 years at P&G, Panayotopoulos was a cornerstone of the company’s global success and earned a reputation for relentlessly pushing boundaries. As vice chair global business units and more recently the adviser to the chairman and CEO, Panayotopoulos helped the company focus on breakthrough ideas, speed to market and large-scale transformation across all businesses.

New York – Macy’s Inc. is testing the effectiveness of mobile video ads on Facebook. On May 16, the retailer began running video ads using Facebook’s auto-play feature on the mobile newsfeed in its iPhone app.

The ads appear at the top of the newsfeed and start playing when the user scrolls down. If clicked, they become full-screen size and audio turns on. Users are allowed to like, share and/or comment on the ads.

Miami – Burger King Corp. is preparing a new marketing slogan, “Be Your Way.” The new slogan, which appeared in an online video in April 2014, will be featured in a TV ad for the first time on May 26.

New York - Cole Haan is opening The Driver Shop in six retail locations, offering personalization of the driving moccasin with several accessories in dozens of colors. In stores, accessories are available at stations where on-site "mechanics" will outfit Cole Haan Drivers to customer specifications by appointment or while customers wait, or they can return later to pick them up.

San Francisco - Swift Communications, a multi-platform publisher based in Carson City, Nevada, is making a strategic investment in Engage3, a retail intelligence and digital marketing solution provider. The two companies are also working together to identify retailer and supplier partners in the markets Swift serves to drive additional consumer value.

The amount of the investment, which closed earlier this month and will be used to expand the features of Engage3’s solutions, was not released.

Framingham, Mass. – The TJX Cos. Inc. increased both net income and sales during the first quarter of fiscal 2015 on a year-over-year basis, although sales missed analyst projections. Net income grew slightly to $454.32 million from $452.89 million, while net sales increased 5% to $6.49 billion from $6.19 billion.

Analysts had expected net sales of $6.6 billion. Same-store sales remained flat. Carol Meyrowitz, CEO of TJX, blamed soft apparel sales for the miss on expected net sales.

Philadelphia – Urban Outfitters saw its net income decline 20% to $37.08 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, from $47.06 million in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year. This significant net income drop came despite a 6% jump in total net sales to $686.3 million, from $648.2 million.

Net income and sales totals both came in below Wall Street expectations. Total same-store sales remained flat. Higher marketing expenses, which helped boost net sales, contributed to the decline in net income.

Indianapolis – Hhgregg Inc. swung to a net loss of $7.2 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to net income of $9.9 million in the same period the prior fiscal year. Net sales dropped 10% to $538.3 million, from $597.6 million.

A same-store sales decline of 10% affected both net income and sales, and charges related to Hhgregg’s planned exit from the mobile phone business also helped drive its net loss.