Sales & Marketing

The recent announcement from Coldwater Creek that the women’s apparel brand will seek Chapter 11 protection and plans to start liquidating its inventory didn’t exactly come as a surprise. It has been years since the company posted a quarterly profit, and industry analysts and observers have been pointing to Coldwater’s worrying inability to compete stylistically in an increasingly competitive and youth-oriented women’s fashion market.

Mars Chocolate has rolled out the M-Ball, a peanut M&M's-shaped twist on the traditional soccer ball. The vibrant ball started making the rounds in the United States on April 15, and it comes at a time when soccer fandom is reaching an all-time high, the company said.

Barneys New York has launched an iPad app that offers consumers improved shopping functionality as well as relevant and exclusive content.

New functions on the app include a Personal Shopping scheduling tool, which Barneys touts as the first of its kind for a luxury retailer. Created in partnership with mobile development and design firm Fueled, the app is now available for complimentary download through the Apple iTunes store.

Dallas – Tuesday Morning Corp. has named Melissa Phillips as executive VP and general merchandise manager, effective immediately. She brings 15 years of buying and retail experience to Tuesday Morning. Since 2009, she has served as general manager for The Home Decorators Collection (HDC) at The Home Depot.
 

RetailMeNot has some interesting plans in store for mall goers following an agreement with General Growth Properties allowing it to serve as the mall operators preferred digital coupon provider.

Plans call for RetailMeNot to test new marketing formats and beacon technology in select malls that will allow RetailMeNot mobile app users to be served hyper-targeted offers. In addition, the company said it will work with General Growth Properties on various undefined initiatives to enhance the shopping experience at its 120 malls, increase traffic and drive sales for tenants.

New York – Barney’s New York has released its iPad app. Created in partnership with mobile development and design firm Fueled, the app will allow users to experience the shopping functionality found on Barneys.com seamlessly integrated with relevant and exclusive content, providing background and insight into purchases.

Austin, Texas - RetailMeNot, Inc. has reached a strategic partnership agreement with General Growth Properties Inc. (GGP), a real estate investment trust focused exclusively on owning, managing, leasing and developing retail properties throughout the U.S. RetailMeNot will be the preferred digital coupon provider across GGP malls.

Protection plan provider SquareTrade launched a major program with Sam’s Club last week and this week the company named a former private equity executive to lead its North American business.

Raj Kapoor, a former Bain Capital executive, joined SquareTrade as SVP of North America to lead business development, field sales operations and business process teams.