Retail Stores

Apple was the top global brand in the fourth quarter, according to General Sentiment's Q4 Top Global Brands Report. The report ranks global brands based on "impact media value," using a proprietary methodology that measures brand reach, sentiment of social media discussions and other factors.

Love them or hate them, two football titans will fight it out on Super Bowl Sunday, and more Americans than ever will join them to celebrate the big game. According to a new survey from the National Retail Federation 173 million people will watch the game and consumer spending for the Super Bowl will reach an all-time high, too, with the average game-watcher expected to shell out $63.87 on related merchandise, apparel and snacks, up from $59.33 last year.

J.C. Penney is permanently marking down all of its merchandise by at least 40 percent so shoppers will no longer have to wait for a sale to get the lowest prices in its stores. The company said yesterday that it's getting rid of the hundreds of sales it offers each year in favor of a simpler approach to pricing.

Crocs is in the process of transitioning into a lifestyle brand and the company plans to use its retail stores to communicate the changes to consumers. To do so, Crocs has come up with a revamped design for its new stores with plans to incorporate some of the new features into its existing locations.

Long before football fans began descending on Indianapolis in advance of Super Bowl XLVI, an installation team arrived to build the largest temporary retail store in the nation's history.

For Office Depot, the problem wasn't attracting shoppers but converting them to buyers. A year ago, the retailer set out to address what it viewed as a core issue: shoppers in its stores had difficulty finding everything they needed and lacked a clear understanding of the breadth of products available. 

Kmart, a retail giant known for its blue light specials, is fast joining the long line of retailers that failed to keep up with the times. Nearly seven years after Kmart merged with Sears and moved its headquarters to suburban Chicago, Sears struggled to remain relevant in the cutthroat retail landscape. The merger was supposed to revive the aging retailer, but it appears to be losing the battle against big-box competitors.

The use of technology for shopping is significantly overrated. In fact, more than 68 percent of the 18-year-olds to 25-year-olds surveyed "prefer to shop in stores than online for apparel and shoes," according to the results of a new survey, Shopping Trends Among 18-25 Year-Olds.

True Religion Apparel plans to open 25 new stores in 2012. Ten of the 25 new stores are slated to open in international locations, and the company is negotiating to open in more markets across Europe and Asia.

The National Retail Federation's Annual Convention & Expo (aka Retail's BIG Show) in New York City wrapped up this past Wednesday. Here are some random conclusions I've drawn after roaming the cavernous Jacob Javits Convention Center for three days covering the event: