Branding

Alibaba has launched an English-language version of its fakes hotline after it signed exclusive deals with international retailers in a push to draw more global brands to its platform. China has gained a reputation for knock-off products and Alibaba has been trying to combat the problem on its own e-commerce sites over the past year.…

As Target Corp. began rolling out smaller-format stores in the past few years, their names — CityTarget and TargetExpress — sometimes sparked confusion. While CityTarget stores located in dense urban areas are generally smaller than Target’s other big-box stores, that wasn’t the case with the CityTarget store that opened last month next to Fenway Park in…

Alibaba has partnered with Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant to create and distribute a series of Kobe-branded products in China and to release his documentary “Kobe Bryant’s Muse.” Demand for Bryant’s merchandise in China might seem an oddity to many, but Bryant has a strong fan base among the NBA-crazed Chinese millennials. “We are thrilled…

The primary purpose of off-site search engine optimization is creating high-value inbound links to your website. However, if the SEO team operates in a vacuum and concentrates solely on links, it will fail to capitalize on other, primarily brand-related, benefits of link building and, even worse, could take actions that undermine branding. For these reasons,…

For a group of kids in Harlem, lacrosse has become a lifestyle. Depicted in two new national spots from Dick's Sporting Goods set to premiere on Wednesday, the Harlem lacrosse team has become the latest beneficiary of the retailer's program, Sports Matter. In 2014, the program began as an effort to promote awareness and funds for youth…

It was just one Facebook/Instagram post among many, but Bugaboo's pairing of a running stroller and a bikini-clad fashion model has sparked plenty of laughter and derision from its target market. In the photo, 23-year-old Dutch model Ymre Stiekema is seen running with her two-year-old daughter while wearing what appears to be a black-and-white bikini…

lululemon athletica — that company of see-through yoga pant infamy that arguably singlehandedly launched the “atheleisure” trend in comfortable, everyday sportswear — is introducing a specialty beer, the Curiosity Lager. The beer comes in a 500 ml slender can, has 4.6 percent alcohol, printed with a geometric array of Pacific Northwest motifs: a totem pole,…

Levi’s is overhauling its namesake brand’s entire women’s line. The company, founded in 1853, has survived the Civil War, the Great Depression, and other epochal threats, but in the last two years it’s been tormented by an enemy none of its executives saw coming: yoga pants. Comfortable and flattering at the same time, athletic pants…

Tory Burch has been awarded $41.2 million after winning a trademark infringement lawsuit against Lin & J International Inc., who the designer successfully proved had copied her trademarks and designs. The judgement, which was made by the US District Court on Friday, draws a line under a battle between the two brands that started in 2013…

Most consumers expect to receive e-commerce orders in a traditional brown box. However, this doesn’t mean that companies, especially emerging brands looking to grow, should skimp on packaging. Brands that go above and beyond will be remembered. Creating a memorable experience is one of the best things an emerging brand can do, and using the…