Apple accused of avoiding billions in overseas taxes. 

Hershey launches new brand to get piece of China market.

Foxconn confirms employee deaths.

Best Buy swings to a loss on lower revenues.

Burberry is lifted by China performance.

Chevrolet joins Mad Men buzz on Twitter.

Chris-Craft rebuilds boat maker after recession.

Flowers Foods predicts "record year" after acquisition of Hostess brands.

Giorgio Armani profit is boosted by Asia.

GrubHub and Seamless merge their food ordering services.Continue reading...

What do Veronica Mars and Patrick Robinson have in common? Kickstarter—their platform of choice for rebirth.

The power of the crowd just amped up as "Veronica Mars, the single best TV show about a smart-ass teen detective," may finally become a movie thanks to loyal and generous fans.Continue reading...

Big-name fashion designers are flocking to the Olympics this summer, with host country talent Stella McCartney leading the way, in partnership with Adidas, as the chief designer for the United Kingdom’s squad. There have been a few naysayers to McCartney’s designs, but fashion designers have got to be pretty used to that by the time they hit the big-time.

Now word comes, via the Telegraph, that Prada is getting into the Olympics gear, designing uniforms for Italy’s Olympic and Paralympic sailing teams.Continue reading...

It's not like using sex to sell is a new idea, but something about the popularity of Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue keeps inviting brand innovation by the digital marketers at SI and Time Inc. 

For the 2012 edition, arriving in mailboxes, newsstands and tablets to eager readers this week, a couple of automakers are throwing some curves — in the form of promotions with their own bikini-clad models.

Lexus is running a campaign that matches the twists and turns in a depiction of a competitive driving course to the body curves of a swimsuit model. The objective: to spotlight the 2013 GS, the sporty sedan featured in the brand's Super Bowl ad and a key launch for Lexus's hopes of a sales comeback this year after last years's supply-chain woes. Previous swimsuit-issue model Tori Praver is the model in the Lexus campaign.Continue reading...

Waterborne illness is the second leading cause of preventable childhood deaths worldwide, killing an estimated 4,000 children every day. That's why the UNICEF Tap Project, now in its sixth year, is asking thousands of volunteers, restaurants, partners and individuals to protect young lives with safe, clean water.

A donation of $1 for a glass of tap water during World Water Week, March 19-25, at participating restaurants across the U.S. will give a child clean, safe water for 40 days, or 40 children safe water for one day. 

“Many of us consume and use safe, clean water every day without thinking twice. Meanwhile, in communities across the globe, disease can spread with lethal swiftness for the millions of children and adults who lack access to a safe water source and adequate sanitation,” said President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Caryl Stern. “Today, for too many of the world’s children, clean water can mean the difference between life and death.”Continue reading...

Life must be so hard for athletes. While some people are trying to get them into a uniform, others are trying just as forcefully to get them to take it off.

Rafael Nadal is the industry’s latest victim.

Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani announced on Friday that the tennis world number one will replace Cristiano Ronaldo as the face (read: body) of its men’s underwear line. Nadal will also model for the Spring/Summer 2011 Armani Jeans collection.

His other endorsement gigs currently include shilling for Nike and shimmying with Shakira in her Gypsy music video, below. Oh, and playing tennis.

He follows in the venerated footsteps of another sports legend, David Beckham, a man just as well known for his pretty face as his prowess on the soccer field — whose Armani work has included his wife, Victoria.Continue reading...

Would you stay at Hotel Louis Vuitton? How about the Veuve Clicquot Inn? Global luxury goods branding juggernaut LVMH is banking on the answer being yes. The company has just announced that it will develop and open a number of resorts branded under the Cheval Blanc name, a winery in Bordeaux.

The Wall Street Journal lists the co-branding opportunities available to LVMH under its new hotel umbrella: "LVMH's hotels will be a showcase for many of its brands. The Cheval Blanc in Courchevel has a Givenchy spa, and visitors can buy its Louis Vuitton and Dior merchandise in the hotel." These brand extensions are in line with competition, such as Bulgari Spa, Dubai's Giorgio Armani-branded hotel and the slowly growing Hard Rock Hotel and Casino empire. Continue reading...

Luxury and fashion brands that want to survive now and into the future are anxious to reach consumers between the ages of 18 and 28, commonly referred to as Millennials. What they recognize, however, is the "in-your-face 20th-century approach" just doesn't work with this audience; instead, Millennials want to be "entertained and informed" through increasingly sophisticated technology.

According to a report on Millennials by the Pew Research Center, 75 percent of this youthful audience engages in social networking. This "makes them very savvy consumers," says Robert Polet, president and chief executive of the luxury brand Gucci. "We are embracing different ways of creating dialogue through social media. Some of our brands have launched Facebook and Twitter pages and iPhone applications."Continue reading...