Noreen O'Leary chats with Tony Pace, CMO of Subway's Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust, about a new campaign featuring Jared training for the ING New York City Marathon, other Subway "famous fans" and the success of the $5 Footlong, which is currently 130 weeks into a promotion that was planned to last only four. One current promo revolves around Firey Footlongs such as a turkey sub with melted cheese and jalapeno. Talk about consumer choice: Pace says there are more than 2 million variations you can make on that theme, "given the ingredients we have in the restaurant." …

Netflix may have beaten Blockbuster in world of physical DVD delivery but its toughest fight is still ahead of it, Verne G. Kopytoff reports, as the likes of Apple, Amazon and Google, as well as the cable TV providers, gear up to do battle in the digital realm. This is a battle that has little to do with delivery capability and a lot to do with who can best negotiate with Hollywood studios. Netflix' Watch Instantly streaming service gave it an early lead but its catalog does not include a lot of recent Hollywood hits. Many of the …

Sandra M. Jones reports that food stores -- from upscale Whole Foods to discounter Aldi -- are beginning to take root in malls around the country as the shopping emporia morph from department-store fashion centers into places of commerce and convenience centered on community. From an operator's perspective, it's a way to draw the crowds needed to support the rest of the mall after the demise of chains such as Mervyn's and Gottschalks and with retailers such as Sears and Saks shutting unprofitable stores. Plus, shoppers typically visit grocery stores once a week while they visit regional malls, …

Unilever is purchasing Alberto Culver, which makes Alberto VO5, TRESemme and Nexxus hair-care products as well as skin-care products such as St. Ives and Noxzema, for $3.7 billion in cash -- a 19% premium over Alberto Culver's closing price Friday, Dana Cimilluca and Paul Sonne report. The Anglo-Dutch Unilever says the acquisition of the firm based in Melrose Park, Ill., will make it the world's leading company in hair conditioning, the second largest in shampoo and the third largest in styling. Leonard Lavin founded the company in 1955, took it public six years later and now serves on …

Nestlé is setting up Nestlé Health Science SA to develop personalized nutrition products to treat or prevent diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's, Tom Mulier reports. Luis Cantarell, who leads Nestlé's business in the Americas, will be CEO. "Nestlé's cash and know-how really make it a powerful machine," says Jean-Marie L'Home, an analyst at Aurel in Paris. "Nestlé will probably be the leader in this category within the next few years." The new unit will include Nestlé's existing nutrition business, which had sales of $1.6 billion last year. It is also creating the Nestlé Institute of Health …