BlackBerry launches new Z10 smartphone in US today, as CEO says Apple's iPhone is outdated.

Pepsi introduces first new package design since 1997.

PPR, French owner of Gucci and Saint Laurent, announces rebrand to "caring" Kering with new owl logo.

Nike surges on China rebound, North American results in latest quarterly earnings report.

Asda pulls private-label corned beef from UK shelves over horsemeat discovery as new report finds consumer concern fading. 

Chrysler looks to Nike and Starbucks for inspiration.

Coca-Cola tops British grocery brands ranking as Walkers rises to #2.

Facebook tests yet another timeline design.Continue reading...

Tesco CEO Philip Clarke told the World Retail Congress in London today that the "tectonic plates are shifting" in retail and residual from financial woes in the euro zone is requiring companies to adopt new technologies or lose their competitive edge.

"We are in the first downturn of the digital age," Clarke stated, adding "consumption is weakening" in China, Thailand and South Korea, regions previously earmarked for growth but reeling from economic turmoil in Europe. "[These economies] are vulnerable to the crisis in the euro zone, as well as inflation caused by high commodity prices.

"Digital technology gives us the opportunity for a warmer, more meaningful conversation with our customers, local communities, our colleagues and the suppliers we work with.” That's why Clarke, who started as Tesco CEO in March 2011, has just launched a corporate blog, Talking Shop, in an effort to build trust and, as he puts it, "explain what we are thinking and how we see the world."

He's not much of a tweeter, though he likes writing bylined op-ed pieces (such as this week's FT column). So why blog?Continue reading...

Barclays continues to innovate by taking a leading role in mobile payments in Europe. Having just launched the Pingit mobile payments app, it's now bringing contactless payments to Barclaycard, the UK's first credit card. Now, its 12 million Visa Barclaycard credit card customers can look forward to PayTag, a free sticker that enables mobile contactless transactions at more than 100,000 terminals. 

The easy-to-use PayTag sticker aims to spur the usage use of smartphones for small purchases, increasing the reach of the Quick Tap NFC (Near Field Communication) service the bank operates in partnership with mobile network operator Orange.Continue reading...

Anheuser-Busch InBev moves to trademark US city area codes, while Apple trademarks "280."

Charlie Sheen hopes to return to TV in Anger Management.

Claudia Schiffer launches a fashion collection.

CNN cancels Eliot Spitzer's talk show.

Ford is the first brand on Google+, with two accounts.

Louis Vuitton and Burberry awarded biggest counterfeit settlement in Canadian history.

PyeongChang, South Korea, selected by IOC to host the XXIII Winter Olympics in 2018.

Nancy Grace's Casey Anthony obsession boosts ratings for HLN.

P&G, Asda and Tesco consider joining brand advertisers that are boycotting News of the World.Continue reading...

The recent opening of a Tesco store in the British city of Bristol became a scene of violence and mayhem as protesters threw bricks and bottles and set fires. Why? Quite simply, because Tesco supermarkets are replacing local shops.

"Do people love Tesco? That's open to question. But the level of mayhem and destruction doesn't necessarily create empathy," commented Graham Hales, CEO of the British unit of Interbrand, to Bloomberg Businessweek's Carol Matlack. 

Tesco is a UK staple, much like Walmart in the US, and as the world’s third largest retailer (behind Walmart and France's Carrefour), it accounts for a whopping two-thirds of the UK’s $92.4 billion in annual sales.

Just as Walmart has to fight off local protests with some of its higher-profile openings (witness its continuing battle in New York), few outside the UK may realize that Tesco has its critics in British Isles — and aisles.Continue reading...

"Private Label vs. Brands: An Inseparable Combination" is a new report from Rabobank, a Dutch international financial services provider, indicating that store brands, also known as private label products, could see their global market share double to 50% by 2025.

For years, it has been an accepted fact of life in the brand world that store brands have their place on store shelves, right next to the brand name products with which they compete.

During recessionary times, store brands typically gain in market share. Last year, for example, some 84% of U.S. shoppers bought store brands and 93% of those who purchased store brands said they would keep buying them even after the economy recovers. In the U.S., almost one in four products sold in supermarkets are store brands, according to Consumer Reports.

Even more significant, consumers are beginning to not only accept but to trust store brands.Continue reading...

Grocers on both sides of the Atlantic are stepping up their price wars in the face of rising food costs.

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, today launched a 200 million-pound ($324 million) campaign to let consumers know that it’s cutting the price of 1,000 everyday items. Shoppers who discover the goods at a cheaper rate at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Asda stores will get vouchers equal to twice the difference.Continue reading...

Super Bowl XLV combatants, brand marketers including Kraft and Verizon, automakers and other game advertisers and fans gird for the game in north Texas this weekend between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Apple and Campbell Soup say that iAds are twice as effective as TV. 

AT&T reaches out to business users. 

BJ’s Wholesale places itself on auction block

BMW may lease, not sell, its Megacity EV.

Dunkin’ Donuts foresees 50% hike in expansion deals this year.Continue reading...