Shopping bags at Disney theme parks are generally overstuffed with Mickey ears, Dumbo stuffed animals and Little Mermaid outfits. Soon, though, those bags—at least the ones at Disney World—may be packed with plenty of non-Disney merchandise.

Disney World’s Downtown Disney is getting a revamp and expansion that is scheduled to be finished in 2016 and will result in a change of name to Disney Springs and a total change of sensibility. It will feature “uniquely Disney venues coupled with high profile third parties” and will mean the end for nightclub spot Pleasure Island, Fox News reports. Instead, Disney Springs will get a makeover that will include “Spanish revival architecture amidst a retail setting with waterfront dining.”Continue reading...

American Airlines and US Airways finalize merger details.

Comcast buys balance of GE's stake in NBCUniversal for $16.7 billion.

Yahoo CEO Mayer looks to focus mobile, expresses disappointment in Microsoft search deal.

Adidas will reveal Boost running innovation at New York event.

Apple CEO Cook feels brand's stores are too small; a Google payday might help.

Barclays CEO pressured to get moving on revamp.

BBC Worldwide appoints global editorial director.

Blockbuster UK closes 164 more stores.

Dior sees former designer John Galliano re-offend Jewish community.

Facebook eyes books, movies and TV content as Zuckerberg's full philanthropy revealed.

Ford assures dealers on Lincoln MKZ supplies.Continue reading...

A once-in-a-decade occurrence in China, the overlap of Chinese National Day and the Mid-Autumn Lunar Festival, is giving Chinese consumers a rare eight-day period with no work or family obligations. As a result, Chinese tourists are traveling in China and flocking to other areas, including Hong Kong (now in mourning following a ferry crash that killed 38 holiday revelers) and Europe.

While less than three percent of the Chinese have a passport, that number is rising 20 percent each year, according to Reuters. That means the current travel period is likely to be dwarfed by long-term prospects for Chinese tourism. It's true that China's economy has slowed along with the domestic appetite for luxury, but a segment of the population is decidedly well-heeled, and they still love to travel and shop.

It's certainly not stopping brands from pushing ahead in China — Louis Vuitton recently opened a flagship in Shanghai, and Ralph Lauren just opened five stores in China in the past two weeks, as David Lauren, the brand's EVP of Advertising, Marketing & Corporate Communications, told the New York Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin in a discussion at the Interbrand/New York Stock Exchange 2012 Executive Marketing Summit on Tuesday.Continue reading...

Dolce & Gabbana's spring/summer 2013 runway show had barely finished parading on the catwalk in Milan on Sept. 24 when the luxury fashion brand found itself generating buzz ... less for the clothes than for the accessories — specifically, the earrings dangling from the models' lobes. Depicting an African American woman's fruit-carrying head as earrings smacked of colonialism to some, and just plain offensive to others, and not just women and people of color.

D&G, accused of "romanticising slavery" and worse, turned to Vogue to publish the brand's explanation in an online article titled "Dolce & Gabbana Explains Controversial Jewellery." That's fairly ironic, considering Vogue has been behind both the NBA star LeBron James "King Kong" cover controversy and raked for a reference to "a pair of large, gold hoops as 'slave earrings'."

But did D&G's own show add the ultimate irony of its excuse? And what did they think would be the response?Continue reading...

Dior is releasing an online-exclusive documentary featuring French actress Marion Cotillard, who also starred in the luxury brand's 2011 branded entertainment foray, titled "The Lady Noire Affair." That short film noir spoof, featuring a black Lady Dior handbag and matching accessories in a co-starring role, helped make Lady Dior a sub-brand in its own right — and the handbag of choice of North Korean first lady Ri Sol Ju.

We've just passed the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death from an overdose of barbiturates, but the world still can’t keep its collective eyes off of her visage — or brand. She may not have an annual week dedicated to her as Elvis does, but her doe-eyed, beauty-marked visage is stronger than ever.

Forbes, which has made something of a cottage industry out of tracking dead celebrities' brands, estimates that Monroe pulled in $27 million in 2011, third behind Michael Jackson and Presley in the dead-celeb sweepstakes.

Her image and likeness are controlled by Authentic Brands Group and partner NECA, which purchased the Monroe brand in 2010. The plan in process now, according to the Associated Press, is to upgrade “Monroe offerings from trinkets to cosmetic lines, spas, salons and apparel.”Continue reading...

Back in the 1950's, Christian Dior made a splash with what came to be known as the "New Look." Today, Dior is all about the new look of its new media. While the production values aren't to the standard of the recent "Charlize Meets Marilyn, Grace and Marlene" short film for its J'Adore perfume, the luxury brand is making a big statement about how much it values digital branding these days by producing a trailer, above, teasing its soon-to-be-relaunched website at dior.com.

Dior invites viewers to play spot-the-dead-celeb in its latest commercial. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and filmed in the stunning Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, it broke Sunday night on French TV. (Versailles was the setting for Dior's 60th anniversary celebration in 2007, under ousted design head John Galliano.)

The new 90-second ode to Hollywood glamour for Dior J'Adore perfume features Charlize Theron — not to mention (spoiler alert!) digitally integrated footage of Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich and Grace Kelly. Check out Theron's earlier spots for the perfume below.Continue reading...