New uniforms for the men's U.S. National soccer team betray a not-so-subtle lack of interest on these shores in the world's most popular sport, Suzanne Labarres says. It's about "the zillionth redesign in 50-plus years," she writes, representing "one of the crappiest branding efforts in sports history." The bottom line is that the uniforms of many other teams are as identifiable as their national flags while ours are in a constant state of "sartorial flux." That said, this year's effort -- a nostalgic nod to the 1950 team that miraculously defeated England in one match -- is not …

Nordstrom is opening its first store in Manhattan today but it will be filled with 25,000 pairs of discount shoes instead of $4,000 dresses, Stephanie Rosenbloom reports. The upscale retailer is actually making its debut in the Big Apple with a low-cost sister store, Nordstrom Rack, located downtown in Union Square. "Ideally, we would have led with a full-line store," company president Blake W. Nordstrom admitted during a walking tour yesterday, but the ideal piece of real estate proved to be elusive. Like other Nordstrom Racks, about 25% of the merchandise comes from full-line Nordstrom stores …

U.S. Cellular, the Chicago-based wireless carrier, named Mary Dillon its president and CEO yesterday, opening up the global marketing chief slot at McDonald's, Paul Ziobro reports. She replaces John Rooney, who is retiring. McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker says the announcement was not a surprise and indicated that there would be a smooth transition without divulging any other details. "We have a very strong, experienced bench of marketing leadership, not just here in Oak Brook, but around the world," Riker says. McDonald's has been on a roll lately, and it was also reported …

JetBlue characterizes a campaign breaking today as a "digital brand experience," Stuart Elliott reports. It endeavors to entice consumers with information and entertainment rather than bombard them with pitches.

Miguel Bustillo chats with Nike CEO Mark Parker about everything from his doodling design ideas in meetings to Tiger Woods to overseas expansion.

Mercedes-Benz has launched a design division called "Mercedes-Benz Style" that it hopes will expand the brand's horizons, aesthetic and expertise to a wider arena of products, Barry Silverstein reports. It's a formal extension of what the brand already has been doing, according to the company's head of design, Gorden Wagener. "In the past, our design team has already styled such products as watches and interiors, he says. "Mercedes-Benz design stands for innovation, trend-setting, enduring style." Mercedes-Benz Style is currently working on the interior of a helicopter and the exterior of a luxury …

The Norwegian Epic, a balcony-laden ship that can sail with 4,100 passengers, will make its debut this summer by hosting Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks in New York City, Martha Brannigan reports. NBC will broadcast the show live on national television. Kevin Sheehan, CEO of the parent of Norwegian Cruise Line, says that the introduction is no accident; the ship's whole focus is unabashed entertainment. The razzle and dazzle will include the Blue Man Group, Cirque Dreams, Legends in Concert, 19 restaurants and many night spots, including Spice H2O, where a daytime pool floor morphs into a nighttime, …

After nine years on the job, Postmaster General John E. Potter believes he has less than six months to convince Congress and the nation of the urgent need to retool the U.S. Postal Service for the 21st century, Ed O'Keefe reports. A large part of Potter's mission is to change the service's business model by dropping Saturday deliveries, replacing post offices with outposts in suburban supermarkets and cutting hundreds of thousands of jobs through attrition. But he's also looking for people within the service to come up with the next big idea. "It wasn't somebody in engineering who …