Sales & Marketing

MINNEAPOLIS — Target's remodeling effort has made its way to Detroit. The company announced Monday that it will add fresh grocery to stores in the area.

In addition to featuring a large selection of affordable fresh foods, the new layout will include reinventions in several other departments such as beauty, home, shoes and baby, aimed at providing guests with an exceptional one-stop shopping experience.

New York -- Starbucks Corp. is expanding its drive-thru format, the chain said in its first-quarter earnings call. According to company officials, more than half of the approximate 1,500 new locations it plans to open in the United States during the next five years will be drive-thrus.

Starbucks plans to remodel about 1,400 U.S. locations in 2013. Roughly 500 of those locations will receive a major overhaul.

New York -- J.C. Penney is changing course on its no-sales policy. It was just one year ago that the retailer, amid much fanfare, announced it was nearly eliminating sales events from its stores in favor of a three-tier pricing strategy and everyday low pricing. But on Monday the Associated Press reported that J.C. Penney is not only bringing back sales promotions to its stores, but will also add price tags or signs for approximately half of its merchandise that will show the "manufacturer's suggested retail price" next to J.C.

Pittsburgh -- American Eagle Outfitters announced plans to open a series of vertically owned and operated-stores in Mexico, with the first location set to open on February 20, 2013, in Mexico City.
   
The store will be located in the Perisur’s shopping center, a mall located in the south part of Mexico City. Each AEO store will include an Aerie presence either in shop-in-shop or side-by-side form.

ATLANTA — Songstress Taylor Swift has signed on as the new face of Diet Coke's "Stay Extraordinary" campaign, which celebrates the self-assured and aspirational people who enjoy Diet Coke everyday.

WATERLOO, Ontario — Move over iTunes, there's a new digital media storefront hoping to capture some of Apple's lucrative business.

BOSTON — Private sale site, Rue La La, has appointed Darlene Daggett as a president overseeing merchandising, programming and member experience. Daggett will report to Ben Fischman, founder and CEO of Rue La La and be headquartered in the Boston and New York offices.

Daggett's background includes 18 years at QVC Inc., one of the world's largest e-commerce retailers. In her most recent role, as president of QVC U.S. Commerce, she was responsible for merchandising, planning, broadcasting and new business development.

New York -- Barnes & Noble is planning to shutter approximately one-third of its stores during the next 10 years, CEO Mitchell Klipper said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. As of Jan. 23, the company operated 689 stores. (The company also operates a separate division of 674 college book stores.)

“In 10 years we'll have 450 to 500 stores,” said Klipper in the interview, who noted that, even with the reduced store count, “it’s a good business model.”