Coca-Cola is testing 150 interactive vending machines at Simon Malls in the southeast U.S. with a flat-screen set in the vending machine doors that is divided into three sections, Patricia Odell reports. The machines function similar to an iPhone. In the mid section of the screen, people can buy drinks. Clicking on a product lets the shopper rotate the bottle to see the label. The top and bottom sections of the screen are used for running commercials for Coke and other Coca-Cola brands and for Simon Mall promos. Next-generation machines will offer mobile phone downloads in the form …

Meanwhile, Dawn C. Chmielewski reports that "the hottest thing in movie rentals is as old as the Coke machine -- and just as red." The Redbox movie kiosks that are popping up by the thousands in supermarkets, drugstores, restaurants and convenience stores are becoming a growing concern to both Hollywood and Blockbuster. Redbox operates nearly 12,900 kiosks throughout the U.S. where consumers can rent a DVD for a buck a day. It plans to introduce 7,100 more by the end of the year. Each machine holds as many as 700 DVDs and 200 movie titles. They are undermining longtime …

Customers are finding fewer types of products on Walmart shelves as the company reduces inventory and changes store layouts to implement its "fast, friendly, clean" message, according to Bill Simon, evp and CEO of Walmart U.S. And less inventory in stores makes it easier to order products from distribution centers and easier for employees to restock shelves, Lana F. Flower reports. That gives them more time to spend with customers, and it makes it easier for customers to find items. Walmart has 21 minutes from the time a shopper walks into a Supercenter until check out, Simon says. …

How global markets classify functional foods and beverages, both in the regulatory and marketing arenas.

Vern Brunner, 68, one of retailing's most popular and highly regarded merchandising visionaries, died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer, Jim Frederick reports. He retired in January 2001 as evp-marketing at Walgreens. "Walgreens wouldn't have reached its market-leading position without Vern Brunner. He was a marketing genius with an amazing work ethic and a great many friends both at and outside of Walgreens," the company says in a statement.

General Electric is about to launch a sales and marketing blitz for its $17-billion-a-year healthcare business that's modeled on the Ecomagination campaign it rolled out in 2005. The division provides medical services to hospitals and governments and manufactures imaging and diagnostics equipment. It was run by Jeffrey Immelt before he succeeded Jack Welch as CEO in 2001 but has been dogged by regulatory and operational issues in recent years, Francesco Guerrera and Justin Baer report. The drive is part of the strategy launched by Immelt to identify mega-trends -- such as green issues -- that give the diversified global company …

The latest Chevrolet Malibu has collected honor after honor -- including a recommendation from Consumer Reports -- but it is still having difficulty gaining traction with American consumers, Kevin Helliker and John D. Stoll report. The Toyota Camry outsold it, 437,000 to 177,000, last year in the U.S., according to Autodata Corp. Call it lingering pessimism. "A perception of inferior quality is the most serious problem facing GM," aside from its financial predicament, says David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. It took decades for Toyota and Honda to steal big chunks …

No. 1 PC maker Hewlett-Packard is "studying" Google's Android operating system to determine how well it runs on HP computers, Aaron Ricadela reports. HP spokeswoman Marlene Somsak says the company is evaluating Android's computing and communications functions, but she declines to say whether HP would ship Android-powered products. One possibility is that HP would load Android on its netbooks, which mostly run Microsoft's Windows XP or the open-source Linux OS. Android is primarily used in cell phones right now, but Google has been working with PC makers working with PC makers to put Android in netbooks in order to …