Marketers are not planning major restructuring, head-count reductions or wholesale agency terminations this year, according to a CMO Council online poll of 659 global senior marketers between mid-January and March 2. This despite the drumbeat of news reports -- nous? -- that would indicate that the sky is falling, Kenneth Hein reports. "There was not as much panic about job security that we thought there would be," says Liz Miller, vp, programs and operations at the CMO Council. "The big story for the marketing community is ... about budget reallocation. Marketers are looking to better support the sales team, drive …

Filing from Fiat SpA's home city of Turin, Italy, Freep auto critic Mark Phelan says that "it's hard to find anyone with a bad word to say" about the automaker's proposed alliance with Chrysler. That's a lot different from the attitude of German executives at Daimler-Benz, who erected barriers between the two companies lest the Mercedes name be tarnished by association with Chrysler's down-market vans and trucks. By contrast, analysts, Fiat's unions and a small sample of Italians on Turin's streets see the deal as a way for Fiat to grow at minimal risk or cost, Phaeln writes. "Chrysler …

Sara Lee is understood to have asked Goldman Sachs to look for possible buyers for its household goods arm, which includes brands like Kiwi shoe polish and Radox bubble bath. But analysts say it's facing a tough sell, Jenny Wiggins reports, with private-label products gaining traction at retail. "It's a rather tired portfolio," observes an executive at one household goods company. Sales for the business, most of which are generated in Europe, dropped 3.2% in the second quarter last year as demand for its air fresheners, body care and shoe care products fell. The company is trying to counter …

The Federal Trade Commission wants to toughen the rules for endorsements and testimonials by requiring evidence that results are likely to be typical, Ira Teinowitz reports. If the revision of its 29-year-old rule for endorsements is approved, advertisers who claim dramatic results will either have to demonstrate that consumers are "likely" to have similar success or describe in the ad what the "generally expected performance" is. Celebrities who mention products in TV interviews would be required to disclose any connections they have to the manufacturers of those products. And bloggers who get free products and endorse them would have to …

"Teen retailers didn't just experiment with concept stores," Nicholas Casey, "they built entire strategies around them, chasing trends from skater-themed shops and surf-shops to dark boutiques modeled after nightclubs." But the recession is prompting a harsh reappraisal of slicing the market into dozens of niches, he reports. Analysts say there are too many similar concepts -- be it surfer, skater or preppy -- fighting over too few customers. Pacific Sunwear of California has shuttered two separate concept-store brands in the past 18 months. Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters both invested heavily in concept stores aimed at slices …

As grim as the outlook for the teen concept-store concept may be, the Jonas Brothers - Kevin, Joe and Nick -- are looking to make a hit with a fashion brand for tween girls, Julee Kaplan reports. The apparel collection, called Jonas, will follow the launch of the Disney Channel's highly anticipated "Jonas" TV show in May. The Jonas Brothers franchise will include a full sportswear line for tweens at mass retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sears and JC Penney. Each store will have exclusive products on their floors, according to Pamela Lifford, evp, global fashion & home at …

Wal-Mart will open two pilot Supermercado de Walmart grocery stores in Phoenix and Houston this summer in what it calls "strongly Hispanic neighborhoods." Staff will be bilingual and the stores -- re-modeled 39,000-square-foot locations occupied previously by Wal-Mart's Neighborhood Market -- will feature new layouts, products and signage "designed to make them even more relevant to local Hispanic customers," Jonathan Birchall reports. Wal-Mart's Sam's Club warehouse store also plans to open a 143,000-square-foot, Hispanic-focused store called Más Club in Houston this year. Several chains already operate Hispanic store brands, including Publix in Florida, which operates three Publix …

Six Flags, which owns 20 theme parks across the U.S., may seek bankruptcy court protection if it can't restructure some of its obligations by mid-August, Alejandro Lazo reports. As part of an attempted turnaround orchestrated by president and CEO Mark Shapiro, a former ESPN programming chief, the company has tried to make its parks cleaner and more family-oriented. Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder became chairman of the company three years ago as part of a broader expansion into a variety of entertainment properties. "It is a good business with a bad balance sheet," says Christopher Snow, an analyst with …