Boston Globe
Several months after buying discount Internet retailer Sierra Trading Post, TJX Cos. disclosed plans to launch ecommerce websites later this year to hawk the Framingham retailer's offprice merchandise. TJX chief executive Carol Meyrowitz said in a conference call Wednesday that the company aims to develop a T.J. Maxx website in a "controlled, small test mode in the back half of this year."
Huffington Post
Fred Deluca, founder of the Subway chain, said a sharp increase in the minimum wage is "a bad idea." "Wages directly affect prices," he said. "It will cause franchisees to raise prices. There's no doubt about it." Deluca acknowledged that minimum-wage workers "deserve to make more," but cautioned against a big spike all at once. President Obama proposed raising the minimum wage to $9 from $7.25 per hour in his State of the Union address earlier this month.
Brand-e.biz
The Converse Rubber Tracks Experience is heading to the 2013 SXSW Music & Media Conference. The brand will be offering Texas-based bands the opportunity to record for free. "Our goal as a brand is to be useful to artists and help them unleash their creative spirit," says Geoff Cottrill, Converse CMO. "This is what Converse Rubber Tracks is all about - giving rising artists the encouragement and support they need to develop their artistry. And with over twice the bands participating this year, we're looking forward to providing this great platform to more Texas artists."
NYSportsJournalism.com
As Major League Soccer prepares for its 18th season, marketers are actively lining up for team, league and stadium deals. But the most visible sponsorship alliances are on player jerseys, where 16 of the MLS' 19 clubs have corporate logos. Is this marketing overkill or the shape of things to come among U.S. pro sports leagues?
Detroit Bureau
Here's a sneak peak at which cars and trucks are going to win in "Consumer Reports"' list of best vehicles in 10 categories. Seven of the 10 were new to the Top Picks list this year, including a tie in the sports car category between the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ. Honda, long a favorite of CR, was shut out in 2012 but lands three models on the list this year, while Audi and BMW show up for the first time.
AlwaysOn
This year's OnMedia100 top companies -- plus 30 to watch -- represent privately owned media, advertising, marketing, social commerce, branding, and public relations firms. They were selected based on innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value, and media buzz. Each is an alphabet list of the best: the ad network category had 32 winners from 33Across to YuMe; B-to-B tech companies saw 20 winners from AddThis to Turn; community platforms ranged from AdKeeper to Twitter (with Tumblr, Pinterest and the other big ones on display.)
Convenience Store News
Last year 7-Eleven added nearly 5,000 locations to its worldwide portfolio, just under 1,000 of which were in the United States and Canada, the company reported. Those were record numbers. The world's largest retailer by store count also reported that it expects to pass the 50,000 mark in global store count by the end of this year's first quarter.
NYSportsJournalism.com
State Farm has sports sponsorship assets with the NBA, ESPN and others. But as Tim Van Hoof, AVP-marketing and communications for State Farm, reveals in this Q&A, "If people don't engage with the brand and buy from the brand, then it's been a lot of fun, but we've probably been wasting our money."
Detroit Bureau
With the introduction of its most powerful model ever little more than a week away, Rolls Royce is offering another teaser image of the Wraith that reveals the coupe's fastback shape. The car shares its platform with the Ghost. The company says the Wraith will be "the most dynamic, powerful and beautiful Rolls-Royce in the company's history."
Digiday
L'Oreal Paris is the latest brand to try responsive design, a way to make web sites scalable to different devices. The new LOrealParisUSA.com is meant to give users an experience based his or her preferences. According to L'Oreal Paris, the idea is that the experience will adapt to users' needs based on how, when and why they're accessing the site. L'Oreal and others are using data to customize their messaging and Web content on the fly.