Sears said that it will offer tax preparation services through Jackson Hewitt Tax Service beginning in January. The Hoffman-Estates-based retailer said the service will be able available in most of its stores and online. The move marks an end to Sears relationship with H&R Block, which said it will no longer operates its tax preparation services in Sears locations.

Its largest mall store in the world, in Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus, N.J., was opened last Friday. The two-level, 43,000-sq.-ft. store will serve as the prototype for the Japanese retailer's U.S. mall expansion. The new Uniqlo replaces an Old Navy store and has its own separate entrance to the parking lot as well as a traditional mall entrance. A large LCD monitor display at the mall entrance will feature special interactive games and other content to engage shoppers.

The brand turned out to be an unexpected beneficiary of all the griping about substitute referees in the NFL, who reminded fans of old Buffalo Wild Wings spots in which officials send games into overtime with willfully bad calls (so patrons can watch TV at the restaurant longer). The referee lockout also drove a big lift in brand chatter for Foot Locker, whose employees wear refs' uniforms. But some other brands winning lots of new Twitter buzz got there by leaning on traditional TV advertising.

The new design will showcase five entrepreneurial skills that the $790 million business teaches girls, the Girl Scouts said in a statement. The skills that will be displayed are goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics. The new boxes feature the group's trefoil emblem and they show girls kayaking, working in a park and speaking at scout events, among other activities.

"We remain very humble that we're in that top spot," said Joseph V. Tripodi, executive vice president and chief marketing and commercial officer at the Coca-Cola Company. Tripodi has spoken frequently about how increasing the effectiveness of ads will help the company increase its revenue to $200 billion in 2020, from $95 billion in 2008. Although "nothing lasts forever," Tripodi said of the 13-year streak, the company will strive to keep the Coke brand relevant through innovations in how it engages with consumers.

The scariest advertising-as-horror show ever -- and one clearly written by an agency creative -- was "How to Succeed in Advertising." Here's a new one, though. "Branded" premiered on Sept. 7, but I didn't know about it because my mind has been controlled to completely miss its existence. The sci-fi film, which could have been written by Marshall McLuhan or the guy who wrote Subliminal Advertising back in the '70s, is about total mind control through consumer brands. Wait, that's not science fiction! Well, if you add really incredible computer graphics, it is.

The battle for front-lit e-readers is heating up. Kindle Paperwhite is out, but Target and Walmart are offering Barnes & Noble's own illuminated e-reader, the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, with a $20 price cut, down to $119. That price puts the reader on par with the entry-level Paperwhite (no 3G, with ads).

At the Paris Auto Show, Daimler, Renault and Nissan announced another big expansion of their global alliance, with everything possible but a full-out merger. The partners have rapidly added a wide range of new projects since first revealing a limited series of joint ventures in 2010. The latest move will see Daimler, Renault and Nissan jointly developing a new generation of compact engines while also sharing transmissions. Meanwhile, Daimler could announce an even more expansive program before year-end that would have it share in a new assembly complex Nissan has already announced for Mexico.

Heineken NV gained full control of Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), maker of several popular beers -- including Tiger -- and operator of 30 breweries in 14 countries. Heineken already owned 56% of APB and purchased the remaining stake to ward off a party linked to Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi. Tiger is sold at retail and lots of restaurants in the U.S. (where food is spicy and beer can be a relief.)

Ford Europe and General Motors' Opel were pretty quiet at the Paris Auto Show on Thursday. No surprise, the economy is in a shambles there, and both automakers are losing euros there big time. GM Europe's Opel/Vauxhall is expected to lose more than $1 billion this year, and it doesn't have a permanent CEO. The company unveiled the Adam car without much fanfare. Ford Europe is also on course to lose more than $1 billion this year. It canceled its press conference, although at the Amsterdam show, Ford CEO Alan Mulally unveiled an ambitious new product plan, including exporting the …