Marketing

How to Kick it Into High Gear for Last Weeks of Back-to-School
August 19, 2015 at 3:21 pm

The back-to-school (BTS) season kicked off for retailers as early as springtime, as brands developed fresh strategies and high-engagement campaigns to capture new customers for the second most important retail season of the year. While full-scale campaigns have long been executed, it’s not too late for retailers to kick it into high gear during the…

10 Ways Glasses.com is Changing Customers' Perceptions
August 13, 2015 at 4:11 pm

Buying glasses online, whether prescription lenses or fashionable sunglasses, isn't the easiest of tasks. From finding a pair that are just the right size and color to getting the exact prescription lenses you need to seeing how the glasses will look on your face, the challenges are many. Glasses.com is trying to change that with…

Why Fashion Retailers Are Staging Food Experiences
August 13, 2015 at 2:08 pm

In a grand restaurant in central London, customers tuck into classic British delicacies such as afternoon tea topped off with a glass of champagne. Since opening this spring, Thomas’s on Regent Street has become something of a destination. But the space isn’t one of London’s new dining hotspots; this is Burberry’s all-day café at its…

GNC Trying to Broaden its Appeal
August 10, 2015 at 2:32 pm

At the dawn of its 81st year of operation, GNC Holdings Inc., the giant Pittsburgh vitamin and supplement retailer, is recrafting its body builder image to a warmer, more inclusive health and wellness resource for everyone. For Michael Archbold, who just marked his first anniversary as CEO, the reason behind the strategy is simple: The market…

Dick's Expands ‘Sports Matter’ Campaign in Second Year
July 29, 2015 at 2:53 pm

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…

Moms Are Bugging Out About This Bugaboo Ad
July 28, 2015 at 3:30 pm

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…

3 Types of Customers Waiting for More Trade-In Offerings From Retailers
July 28, 2015 at 2:02 pm

Rewind to five years ago, and the average consumer knew very little about trading in old electronics for store gift cards or cash value. Fast-forward to now: times have changed. The average shopper today is more educated about their purchases than ever before, and trade-in has become a critical tool available to help them get…

lululemon is Introducing a Beer
July 24, 2015 at 4:32 pm

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,…

Distressed Denim: Levi’s Tries to Adapt to the Yoga Pants Era
July 24, 2015 at 4:15 pm

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…

Gap Forms Oddball Partnerships to Boost Sales
July 20, 2015 at 3:11 pm

Gap is hooking up with some odd bedfellows these days. The struggling apparel chain is piloting co-branded makeup counters with online beauty subscription service Birchbox, and testing a free delivery service with Virgin Hotels Chicago so that guests can have Gap fashions delivered straight to their hotel room. The Gap’s new flirtation with the high-margin…