Marketing

ANN Inc., the parent company of Ann Taylor and Loft, has launched AnnCares360, a program in partnership with Good360, the nonprofit leader in product philanthropy. The program will facilitate the donation of available displays, marketing items and fixtures to local charities that support women and children. Through the program, all ANN Inc. stores can enter valued, reusable goods into a tracking system that will link to Good360's online product donation marketplace and its network of more than 26,000 charities. 

Destination Maternity announced an exclusive retail partnership with acclaimed photographer Anne Geddes as well as the launch of the U.S. edition of my Pregnancy: A Woman's Story. 

Amazon.com added a new option for sellers who wish to contact buyers about negative feedback. The "Resolve" feedback button in Feedback Manager allows sellers to email buyers directly to begin resolving any problems with an order. The button is available only when a buyer posts a feedback rating of one or two stars. "If you receive negative buyer feedback, it is important to quickly determine the cause of the problem and work toward resolving it with the buyer," the company said in its announcement to sellers. 

Sears has appointed Leveraged Marketing Corp. of America as its exclusive global licensing agent as it looks to capitalize on ways to sell its signature Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands outside its own stores. Sears said it will work closely with Leveraged Marketing to identify, evaluate and manage licensing opportunities around the world.

Details about H&M’s new retail concept, slated to open in 2013, are leaking out in dribs and drabs. Although the company announced last week it would open another chain when it gave its first quarter report, no name or other details were revealed. In the meantime, Dagens Nyheter, the Swedish news organization, reported that trademarks and logos for “& other stories” were registered by H&M last year. Today, H&M confirmed that “& other stories” is indeed the name of the new chain.

Verizon has officially opened its first trilingual FiOS retail store, where employees are ready to serve customers in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The store is located in Providence, R.I. “Having employees in our store who speak Spanish and Portuguese will enhance the experience for our customers," Susan Retta, vice president of marketing for Verizon, said. Employees at the new Verizon FiOS store will be able to help FiOS customers with questions about their FiOS internet, TV and voice service.

The advertising watchdog group Advertising Standards Authority has banned an ad campaign by American Apparel featuring seminaked young women after investigating a complaint that it's "pornographic and exploitative." American Apparel ran a series of eight ads on its website, and one in Crack, a free lifestyle magazine, featuring women in various states of undress, some topless.

Online gallery overstockArt.com announced the launch of its enhanced "In Room View" web application. The augmented reality web tool is the next generation version of the original "View in a Room" tool, which first launched in May 2010. This innovative web application makes purchasing art online a personalized and interactive experience, revolutionizing the way people buy wall décor on the web.

Express, a specialty retail apparel chain, today announced the launch of Express NEXT, a new points-based loyalty program open to all Express customers throughout the United States. Inspired by customer feedback and extensive market research, Express NEXT replaces the previous loyalty program that was only available to Express credit card holders. Express NEXT is designed to meet the retailer's shoppers’ habits both in-store and online, as well as reward brand interaction via social media. 

German supermodel Claudia Schiffer will be revisiting her famous black-and-white ads for Guess?, shooting a series of similar spots in honor of the brand's 30th anniversary. Just as she did in her six campaigns shot between 1989 and 1991, Schiffer will be posing for photographer Ellen von Unwerth.