The Limited And Shiseido Announce Aura; New Prestige Beauty Brand
The Limited, Inc.’s Intimate Beauty Corporation and Shiseido Co., Ltd. have formed a joint venture called aura science LLC.
The first aura science retail store has opened at Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio. The Company plans on opening a total of ten stores in major cities throughout the country as the concept is tested and further developed.
According to Lynn Emmolo, Executive Vice President & General Manager of aura science, "aura science represents not only a revolution in skincare, but also a new standard in beauty retailing. Our goal was to create a truly unique brand, one that connects with women personally. Our technologies respond to a woman’s individual skin and provide the best skincare to meet her evolving beauty needs.”
Each customer entering aura science is greeted with a warm hand towel, instantly creating a personal shopping experience. Next, an aura science Specialist helps the customer find her SkinPhase through innovative touch-screen technology. The aura science Specialist then recommends a customized aura system to bring her skin to its optimized state.
The store is modern, white-on-white, with provocative images.
Stop & Shop & Dunkin’ Donuts Announce Alliance To Offer One-Stop-Shopping
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company and Dunkin’ Donuts have formed a strategic alliance in which Dunkin’ Donuts will open full-service stores in Stop & Shop locations throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
The agreement will enable Stop & Shop customers to buy Dunkin' Donuts coffee and baked goods while shopping at New England’s leading supermarket chain. Participating Stop & Shop’s will have a dedicated Dunkin' Donuts store located in the bakery section of the supermarket, including coffee, donuts, muffins, bagels and breakfast sandwiches. Customers will also be able to purchase Dunkin' Donuts packaged “coffee-by-the-pound,” which until this point has not been available at grocery stores.
“Dunkin’ Donuts continually seeks smart and innovative ways to extend our brand presence,” said Ken Kimmel, Vice President, Dunkin’ Donuts Concepts. “Stop & Shop is a leader in the supermarket industry and we are pleased to work with them in offering customers their favorite coffee and baked goods.”
The Home Depot Opens New Dallas Store For Professional Builders
The Home Depot Supply has opened in Dallas, Texas, as a new concept store designed especially for professional builders, contractors, tradesmen and property managers, that the world’s largest home improvement retailer is rolling out as part of its strategy aimed at capturing more of the $276 billion professional contractor market.
The 130,000 sq. ft. supply house has separate areas devoted to electrical, paint, plumbing, millwork, hardware, lumber and building materials, each staffed with seasoned professionals. The Home Depot Supply is the first of its kind in the Southwest, and one of only three such stores the company is operating nationwide. The other stores are located in Phoenix, AZ and Colma, CA.
Naturalizer Opens New Flagship Store On Manhattan’s East Side
Naturalizer, a retail division of Brown Shoe, has opened a 3,100 sq. ft. flagship store on Manhattan’s east side. This has followed a radical repositioning effort that included the redesign of its product and an advertising make-over.
Naturalizer’s new Lexington Ave. location, with its two-story atrium, allows the brand to showcase its new attitude and image. The brand will use its new location to preview and test new styles before they appear in other stores.
“We plan to use this store as a laboratory to test new, fashion-forward shoe designs to give us early reads on styles, which will become important to our department store retail partners,” said Byron Norfleet, Naturalizer Division President.
Oakley Launches Partnership With Macy’s
Oakley, Inc. has announced a retail partnership with Macy’s West. The agreement calls for Macy's to deploy Oakley in-store concept shops in five prime locations. Each shop will feature a complete selection of Oakley's innovative, high-performance products including eyewear, footwear, apparel and watches. Each of the five Macy’s stores will be outfitted with Oakley-branded doublewide eyewear towers and branded footwear and apparel rocket displays to powerfully communicate synergies of the Oakley brand across all product categories. Each location will have an Oakley staff specialist specifically trained about the company’s product offerings.
“Our new partnership with Macy’s West is another step in our strategic plan designed to elevate the retail presence of the Oakley brand,” said Jim Jannard, CEO, Oakley. “Our own retail experience has proven that our new product categories sell best when they are merchandised in a cohesive branded presentation.”
Target Stores And General Mills Offer Cereal-Themed Fashions
Target stores across the country are offering a new line of General Mills loungewear featuring four popular breakfast cereals, Lucky Charms, Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs and Trix. The clothing line will feature men’s and women’s T-shirts and boxer shorts, unisex lounge pants, women’s sleep shirts, girls’ daywear, girls’ tank and boxer sleep sets and boys’ boxer shorts.
“A perfect marriage of brands, this new line provides Target guests with a unique way to express their love of General Mills cereals,” said Trish Adams, Sr. V.P., Merchandising for Target.
The Big G line of apparel is located near the main entrance of most Target stores, displayed with its matching box of popular cereal.
Polo Jeans Launches Charitable Program
Polo Jeans Co. has launched “Red, White & New,” a charitable program that will visit 20 major college campuses across the U.S. At each location, students will be invited to bring in an old pair of denim jeans in exchange for a discount code towards the purchase of a new pair of Polo Jeans from Macy.com.
The old jeans collected at each location will then be turned over to Swift Denim for recycling. In exchange for the denim, Swift and Polo Jeans will make a financial donation to the Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation based on the number of pairs of jeans collected.
“Red, White & New is our way of thanking our college consumer and at the same time giving back to the community,” said Ross Klein, Sr. V.P., Corporate Marketing for Polo Jeans Co.
YouthStream Media Networks will execute all of the campus events as well as conduct local promotions to drive participation.
JVC & Urban Decay Join For First-Ever Line Of Female CD Car Receivers
JVC Mobile Entertainment, a division of JVC Co. of America, has shipped the Urban Decay 700 Series CD Car Receivers to retail stores nationwide. The line is designed to meet the interests of the female market, offering them style, portability and functionality.
“Extensive research has proven that it is not just men who are walking into stores buying car audio products, but women as well,” said Tom Caronia, V.P., JVC’s Mobile Entertainment Division. “We developed the Urban Decay 700 series to fill a definite void in the mobile car marketplace.”
High profile celebrities and athletes have signed on to be the official faces of the 700 series including actress Donna D'Errico, singer Lisa Loeb, surfer Belen Connelly, skateboarder Jen O'Brien and snowboarder Jonnel Janewicz.
JVC and Urban Decay have created several joint promotions to support the new line including an “Urban Girl on the Go” sweepstakes, offering the chance to win a two-year lease on a Volkswagen outfitted with JVC and Urban Decay products.
CVS/pharmacy Features In-Store
Kiosks Promoting Women's Health
CVS/pharmacy has introduced the Healthy Women program, a new health and wellness program developed by CVS and The Partnership for Women's Health at Columbia University.
Every two months, Healthy Women addresses a different, top women's health concern. At the Healthy Women in-store kiosks, located in 1,900 CVS/pharmacy locations nationwide, busy women can conveniently gather the latest, free and consolidated information on the featured wellness topic.
Telus Mobility Opens Flagship Store
Canadian wireless provider Telus Mobility has partnered with Toronto-based design firm burdifilek on the redesign of the Telus Mobility flagship retail outlet in Montreal. “We are eager to continuously enhance recognition of Telus Mobility’s unique future friendly approach to wireless,” said Wade Oosterman, Telus Mobility’s Exec. V.P., Sales & Marketing.
The revamped Montreal store features clean and contemporary finishes, custom fixturing and a simplistically sensible floor plan. Spacious and easy to shop bays display wireless telephones and accessories around the store perimeter. A centrally placed internet kiosk encourages clients to interact with the Telus mobility wireless phones. At the back of the sales floor is an 11" x 15' glass wall featuring an oversized translucent image of a trademark dahlia bloom.
Blockbuster & Coca-Cola Announce Alliance
Blockbuster and Coca-Cola have announced a global marketing alliance. The agreement includes the distribution of Coca-Cola products in 8,000 Blockbuster stores and provisions for major promotions. Coca-Cola is purchasing space on Blockbuster’s in-store television network and point-of-sale coupon system. “Not only are we an excellent distribution point for Coca-Cola’s beverages, but we offer them access to our established media vehicles targeted to an affluent, loyal base of members,” said Jim Notarnicola, Chief Marketing Officer for Blockbuster.
The first marketing campaign, the Blockbuster and diet Coke “Steal the Scene” promotion, features an instant win game on 90 million packages of diet Coke. The promotion also extends to concession stands at more than 1,400 movie theaters. The grand prize is a trip to Los Angeles with a walk-on movie role.
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