• Neiman Marcus To Give Associates Smartphones
    Neiman Marcus is giving all of its 4,000 associates at its full-line stores smartphones in an effort to better serve customers, company executives said on the retailer's recent conference call with analysts. Neiman's executives also said the company plans to remodel it stores on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, and in Bal Harbour Shops, Bal Harbour, Fla.
  • Applebee's Sells 33 Locations
    Applebee's has nearly reached its goal of becoming an almost-all-franchised brand with the signing Tuesday of an asset purchase agreement to sell 33 company-owned locations, primarily in Missouri and Indiana. Applebee's parent company, DineEquity Inc., said it has signed an agreement with American Franchise Capital LLC, based in Greenwich, Conn., whose managing partner, William Georgas, is a longtime Applebee's franchisee.
  • Macy's Has A New Focus
    Macy's launched a transformation about three years ago, when management introduced the "My Macy's" localization program where the company tailors merchandise assortment in every store location. The company is focusing on Millennials with new merchandise assortments. Macy's departments are refocusing their assortment to offer fast-fashions, making shopping more exciting for these customers. The company identified the 18 to 30 year old customer as looking for better merchandise while the 13 to 22 year olds are looking for new products. This is a concerted effort by Macy's to fight competition like H & M, Uniqlo or Forever 21.
  • 7-Eleven Finds Niche In Indonesia
    7-Eleven stores are fast becoming the new hot spots in Indonesia, filling a void in an area with few outdoor recreation spaces and limited mobility. In addition to blending convenience store offerings with inexpensive ready-made food and seating, 7-Eleven stores have turned into nighttime gathering spots with live bands and Wi-Fi. The stores have taken over as the spot for young people to gather, hang out and gossip. Ten years ago, the place to be were street-side food stalls called warung; however, rapid economic growth has come with social change.
  • London's Biggest Buildings Promote Brands
    London's most dominant buildings are prime ad real estate, but big ads on buildings are taboo. Plans for huge billboards on King's Reach Tower by the South Bank were rejected. The plans were to wrap the tower with four massive signs. Building owners instead use illuminations to mark out their businesses without ever printing their name.
  • Talbots Ends Buyout Talks
    Talbots said that Sycamore Partners had walked away from negotiations over a proposed $215 million buyout of the retailer. The company, which also reported first quarter results, said it was exploring other strategic alternatives. “Sycamore Partners informed the company that it is not prepared to execute a transaction at this time,” Talbots said in a statement on Friday.
  • Samsung Releases Galaxy S3 In Europe
    Samsung launched its top-of-the-range Galaxy S3 smartphone in Europe on Tuesday, aiming to outsell the previous model that helped the South Korean company topple Apple as the world's largest smartphone maker. The Galaxy S3, which tracks the user's eye movements to keep the screen from dimming or turning off while in use, hits stores in 28 European and Middle East countries,  as Samsung aims to widen the gap with Apple months ahead of its rival's newest iPhone, expected in the third quarter.
  • Mobile Devices And The New Prime Time
    New research shows how consumers are using tablets, smartphones, game consoles and Internet-connected televisions to consume live sports, network TV and cable fare. And most of this is happening during the same hours categorized as TV prime time. People are watching longer and longer videos on their mobile devices -- even on the smallest screens.
  • Q&A: Gillette Sharpens Marketing For London
    The men's grooming division of Procter & Gamble has a roster of 25 athletes from different countries, including Roger Federer, Ryan Lochte and Tyson Gay, and will use them in market-specific campaigns during the final two-month countdown to London. As Mike Norton, director for external relations, reveals in this  Q&A, “The main challenge with the Olympics is getting the timing right…. During the Games there are a lot of restrictions as to how you can market and what you can do. So a lot of the work for the Olympics is done up front. There is a sweet spot that …
  • Why GM Isn't Friending Facebook
    It looks like Facebook isn't willing to slather ads all over the place, at least for now. Before General Motors pulled out of Facebook, company strategists met Facebook to pitch bigger, higher-impact ad units, according to sources. Rather than run sponsored stories, which look like Facebook posts, or smaller units on the right side of the pages, GM asked if it could take over a page. Facebook said "no." But as a public company now, will it be able to hold that line?
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