Deckers Outdoor shoe brand Uggs brought on New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to woo women whose purchases are more than 80% of Deckers' revenue. Neither Brady's nor sparkly and animal-print Uggs make a difference. It's not working. Sam Poser, an analyst at Sterne, Agee & Leach, forecasts Ugg's sales will fall 1.8% this year after over 22% gains in each of the previous three years. Sometimes, what's hot today is not tomorrow.

Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. is among bidders for assets being sold by Hostess Brands Inc., the bankrupt maker of Wonder bread and Twinkies, said a source. There are about two dozen bidders, including Wal-Mart, per the source. Last month, financial adviser Joshua Scherer of Perella Weinberg Partners LP said the liquidation sale may generate $1 billion.

Digital channels are beating out brick-and-mortar stores, per a study by branding and design firm Shikatani Lacroix. "RE:STORE - Redefining Retail," finds that 59% of U.S. shoppers "showroom" - or browse for products in store but then buy them online. One-quarter of U.S. consumers who shop online rarely or never buy from a traditional retailer's website. And 45% of them are shopping at Amazon.com.

Wal-Mart has put various Apple products on sale, including the iPhone 5, marked down to $127. The retailer normally sells the smartphone for about $190, and the sale price is $72 less than the $199 price set by Apple and its carrier partners when buying with a contract. This may suggest that the iPhone isn't going gangbusters.

Contributor Erika Morphy writes that Apple has timed the cannibalization perfectly. "Ever since the iPad Mini launched, Apple watchers wondered how long it would take for the Mini to cannibalize the iPad's sales. Not long, as various figures are showing," she writes. But that's par for the course for Apple. She quotes Azita Arvani of the Arvani Group, who says that, as with one iPod quickly stealing sales from another one, it means "they could have rested on their laurels, and just expected to market to buy the one model of iPods but it is more important for them to …

Daimler AG, in a move underscoring the growing importance of China to the company's future, has named a new chief executive in charge of its operations in China and appointed him to the company's board of management. Hubertus Troska, 52, will become chief executive officer and chairman of Daimler Northeast Asia, responsible for all of Daimler's strategic and operating activities in China.

Columnist Sanjay Sanghoee writes that, like cigarette marketers, gun companies, which did extremely well this year, market sniper weapons as cool. "From the iconic Marlboro man to clever product placement in Hollywood movies, cigarette manufacturers systematically shaped the zeitgeist to glamorize their product and appeal to consumers." That, he says, is a relic of the past, but it's current for guns. "Firearms, like tobacco, are sold on the foundation of coolness...It is a lifestyle marketing strategy revolving around the cowboy culture." He also points out that gunmakers could care less who the end user is, just as long as they …

Businesses are making Louisville, Ky., a laboratory for marketing to the over-65 set. An "experience center," at 18,000 square feet, is scheduled to open there next year. It will be a place where startups and other companies can demonstrate and test new products for seniors. InnovateLTC is the organization behind this project. The idea is that the center, kind of a mall for seniors' products, will draw consumers and industry leaders from across the country.

Middle Eastern air carrier Etihad Airways and Australia's second major airline, Virgin Australia, have signed three-year marketing deals with Tourism Australia. That means Australia's homegrown carrier, Qantas, is on the outs. The new deals, which cost a total $18 million, replace the old agreement set aside by Qantas in response to the suspicion by Alan Joyce, the company's chief executive, that Geoff Dixon, the chairman of Tourism Australia and a former Qantas official, is behind the move to influence decision-making in the flag carrier.

AOL, decentralization its marketing efforts, has named Allie Savarino Kline chief marketing officer of its Advertising.com unit. In the newly created position, she will have global oversight of Advertising.com and will handle marketing strategy for the group's advertising solutions for publishers, advertisers and agencies.