Collective Brands CEO Matt Rubel knows a little something about reviving old brands. His company, Payless ShoeSource, did it itself when it acquired The Stride Rite Corp. and Collective Licensing International, along with a batch of "iconic heritage brands" such as Sperry Top-Sider, Keds and Stride Rite itself. Rubel offers a four-point plan for all you do-it-yourselfers out there. 1. Create a Vision and Mission. The admittedly stodgy Payless, for example, rededicated itself to "democratizing fashion, design and the latest ideas in footwear and accessories for all to enjoy." 2. In-Depth Insight. Get into the heads and hearts of …

Sam's Club is installing free Wi-Fi in its more than 500 stores to help customers understand what Internet-connected TVs can do for them -- things like viewing their Facebook page or watching streaming video from Vudu, Ann Zimmerman reports. They'll also be better able to compare TV prices by accessing comparative shopping sites, of course, but Sam's Club CEO Brian Cornell says he's perfectly fine with that. Wi-Fi is already available at Apple retail outlets, Best Buy and at TigerDirect's CompUSA. Experts tell Zimmerman that they expect more retailers to set up Wi-Fi to better demonstrate how products …

The 5,168 headlines Google carries about the ouster of Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark V. Hurd this morning are generally of two varieties. Some tell us that Hurd's payout could reach $40 million even as the company's stock price free falls (AP: "Hurd Reaps HP Payday As Investors Suffer"); others relate Oracle CEObro's Larry Ellison's outrage over Hurd's dismissal for expense account irregularities (Reuters: "Oracle's Ellison Blasts HP Board For Hurd's Exit"). The Los Angeles Times' David Sarno and Walter Hamilton lead with both notions and more, writing that HP "was left rudderless Monday, …

Danielle Sacks sits down with Alex Bogusky, and his monk, in the ex-adman's "quaint" home -- dubbed "FearLess Cottage" in Boulder, where he tells her all. Actually, while "ex adman" may catch my and your attention, it does little justice in describing the "Dadaist, postmodern media manipulator, pop-culture Houdini, daddy of 21st-century advertising, and now a seeker of meaning on the dirt path of life." Bogusky is not the same man, Sacks writes, that she met more than two years ago when she profiled him for a Fast Company cover story that called him "the Steve Jobs of …

Shan Li reports on an array of new consumer products -- including electronics, toys, medical devices and smartphone apps -- that claim to allow consumers to harness their minds to control their surroundings. For example, Mattel's $80 Mindflex and Uncle Milton Industries' $130 Force Trainer work by having players wear headsets that monitor the electrical waves coming from their brains. By focusing, players can control the operation of fans, which then push small balls through obstacle courses. Is it telekinesis, where people move objects with mind power alone just like in the movies? No, not really, admits Stanley …

Bausch & Lomb is launching a brand aimed at green-minded consumers that it says has been informed by two megatrends: products that look to nature for their best ideas and the growing influence of so-called Lohas (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) consumers, Andrew Adam Newman reports. The product, Biotrue, purportedly mimics nature by using hyaluronan, a substance developed for ocular surgery that has a pH level of 7.5, which is the center of the range for healthy tears. The bottle will also be the first in the category to be clear. "One of the things we heard from …

Restaurants are following the lead of the travel industry by offering "experience"-based rewards such as rare coffee beans and sneak-nibbles at forthcoming menu items to their most loyal customers, Julie Jargon reports. Outback Steakhouse club members can earn points to win CDs, the cologne and or autographed cowboy hats from Tim McGraw, for example. "My Outback Rewards" members also have a chance to win a free trip to see the country singer perform in Australia next month. And Red Lobster's "Fresh Catch Club" has had contests featuring a trip to coastal cities in New England and the Florida …