BrandlandUSA

DESTIN - One of the newest plans at Sears (besides closing Sears and Kmart stores and licensing the DieHard brand) is to sell Craftsman tools at Ace Hardware stores. (Look here for report by Sandra Jones.)
The pilot program involves 100 stores.  It immediately appears a winner for Ace as it gives them a line that […]

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No, I’m not talking about the late Jerry Garcia. I’m talking mums. Potted mums.
I have been thinking about a pot of red mums that sit by the walkway into my house. Different things happen to mums in different economies. When things are booming and we all have cash, we tend to get some new ones […]

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HOFFMAN ESTATES - As the most iconic and historic retailer in the U.S. and owner of some of America’s greatest brands, Sears, Roebuck & Co. made a major jump into social media with the launch of MySears.com last spring. It now has 1.9 million monthly unique visits; (the Sears.com site has about 19 million).
Thin-skinned Sears […]

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At home, in a sewing kit, I noticed a handy little brand many have forgotten is still around. Dritz. It’s part of the great pantheon of sewing brands, some over a century old. Brands like Singer, The McCall Pattern Company, Coats & Clark and Talon Zipper. And of course there is Sears Kenmore; read about […]

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HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois - Sears Holdings (SHLD) announces earnings today; turns out their second-quarter loss is $94 million, or 79 cents a share, with revenue falling to $10.55 billion from $11.76 billion.
I could have guessed it going into their Westfield Sarasota Square store. On our visit, the clerks were friendly. The store maintenance and upkeep […]

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NEW YORK - Jake Holmes perhaps has had as much influence on American music as any other singer songwriter, but unless you are a devotee of early 1970s rock or advertising, you probably don’t know his name.
But you certainly know his music, which includes Amtrak’s “America’s Getting Into Training”, Pan Am’s “We Fly the World”, […]

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CHICAGO - The recent addition of the storied Cannon brand to Sears, Roebuck (NYSE: SHLD) is further evidence that the chain has a smart brand strategy.
Cannon is now appearing in revamped home decorating sections in Sears, and they are making full use of the power of the brand to make Sears unique. Sears is also […]

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GRAFTON - On Route 17 in York County, Virginia remains one of the great remaining Western Auto stores. Don’t you just love the flags on the front? Six of them!
The chain was a national giant in auto parts and appliances. The chain opened in 1909 in Kansas City, Missouri as a mail order company. It […]

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Go and Get a New Catalog
Today, we got a reminder of not only the coming season, but that some companies are dependable. It was a card from JCPenney  (NYSE: JCP), saying to come into the store, and pick up a spring and summer catalog at the catalog for free, along with a $5 savings […]

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Here at BrandlandUSA, we love the brand extension.
Not only does it provide exposure for old brands, it helps give the aging “legacy” brand a new chance at relevance. Sometimes, the old uses for brands disappear. Witness McCall’s, which disappeared as a magazine when it was renamed Rosie. But McCall’s dress patterns are still around.
We have […]

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