Bangladesh plans to raise pay for garment workers and allow unions.

ABC veteran Barbara Walters announces 2014 retirement as Disney plans to live-stream ABC programming via app and cloud.

Yum! sales in China fall 29 percent in April.

ABB says CEO plans to resign.

Audi outsells BMW brand globally — again.

Bloomberg admits use of its terminals for data snooping.

CBS chief touts TV over digital engagement.

Cisco tries reinvention in tough time.

Danone sets deal to acquire Happy Family brand.Continue reading...

The social media airwaves are alive with fury as a seven-year-old comment reignites a firestorm over positive body image and branding. 

Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries made his position clear back in 2006 and has stuck to it ever since. “In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

Jeffries' prejudice was reignited after a blog post reminded the public that the brand doesn't carry sizes XL or XXL in its women's products, a decision that is not only outdated but one that is being challenged by direct competitors like American Eagle and H&M, both which carry extended sizes for women and men.Continue reading...

Consider retailing a two-pronged challenge: On the one hand, retailers must accommodate the increasingly mobile consumer. On the other hand, the traditional retailer can't ignore the need to drive that consumer to a physical store. 

As highlighted in our previous post on the future of retail, there is a flurry of activity surrounding online retail initiatives right now, with particular emphasis on mobile. Mobile payments in particular are getting a lot of attention as retailers figure out ways to transfer the shopping experience to every sort of handheld device.

But there is an equally intense effort to reinvent the traditional store. In fact, many retailers are beginning to realize that rather than close stores, they can sustain them by giving them a much-needed facelift. More than a surface makeover, however, reinventing the store involves a thorough rework that often includes a growing trend: creating a "brand story" to engage and involve a consumer in the shopping experience.Continue reading...

Luxury is back at the forefront of fashion and lifestyle despite the still shaky worldwide economy.

Findings from the 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend, show gains in brand equity across 155 categories from auto makers to department stores across three key criteria: Familiarity, Quality and Purchase Consideration.

"This may show that after a number of years spent tightening their belts, consumers are looking to the quality and value they feel these brands provide,” said Aron Galonsky, SVP Brand and Communication Consulting at Harris Interactive.

Mercedes-Benz took top honors in the Luxury Automotive brand category for the third consecutive year, with Acura (which takes on uber-luxury in its latest US TV commercial, below), Audi, BMW, Infiniti and Land Rover receiving their highest scores ever. Harley-Davidson got its highest score in the study's 25-year history regaining top spot as Motorcycle Brand of the Year.Continue reading...

Adobe confirms its CTO Kevin Lynch has left the company for a job at Apple. 

Chipotle is risking its brand by venturing into the public debate about gay rights, LGBT community says #ThanksChipotle.

NBC to NYT: Jimmy Fallon is expected to succeed Jay Leno on the "Tonight Show" by fall 2014 as NBC struggles with weak ratings.

Aeropostale targets millenials with new in-store #tech. 

Aldi and Whole Foods to boycott genetically modified salmon.

Apple's plan for augmented reality amidst another lawsuit on patent infringement.

Barclays announces massive bonuses on UK budget day.

BlackBerry denies report that BB10 failed UK government security test. 

Global airline profits are flying high.

Harvard researchers have linked sugary drinks to 180,000 deaths a year worldwide.Continue reading...

Now you don't have to worry about mannequins watching you — they may also be following you onto the sidewalk. As part of Greenpeace's global "Detox" campaign, more than 700 people, in over 80 cities, in 20 countries around the world protested, staged street theater and conducted "mannequin" walk-outs to demand Zara to eliminate the use of all hazardous chemicals throughout its supply chain.

From Bangkok to Buenos Aires, the activists also called on Zara store managers (who don't permit photos of their mannequins) to forward Greenpeace's Detox demands to their headquarters, after new research found traces of hazardous chemicals in ZARA clothing items, some of which can break down in the environment to become hormone-disrupting or even cancer-causing substances. As Greenpeace put it, "how will the world's largest fashion retailer — which responds so swiftly to changes in fashion trends — react to this global call for toxic-free fashion?"Continue reading...

Four-year-old Seb White will make history as the first model with a learning disability to be featured in a British TV commercial, thanks to UK mega-retailer Marks & Spencer.

Seb’s mother, Caroline, posted his picture on the M&S Facebook page to highlight the absence of disabled children in advertising back in August, and the high street brand invited his participation in a photo shoot for their print holiday catalogue. Seb’s stellar performance then resulted in an invitation to appear in their holiday TV campaign.

"He won his place in our TV ad thanks to the natural charm and magical personality he showed on set at our magazine shoot,” said Steve Sharp, executive director of marketing at M&S, to the Independent. “All the kids had great fun filming the ad and Seb really was one of the gang — which is exactly how it should be."Continue reading...

Marks and Spencer has started a ‘shwopping’ fashion revolution. “It's time to open your mind, your heart, your arms and your wardrobe. Shwopping is a way of living and thinking, because we think that old clothes shouldn't just be thrown out, they should do some good,” explained Ab Fab actress Joanna Lumley at the initiative's launch back in April.

Shwopping asks every shopper to donate an old item when purchasing a new one at selected stores, and M&S will pass the clothes along to Oxfam's network of charity shops across the UK to help those less fortunate. The campaign’s Facebook app lets users shwop socially and register for a monthly prize draw. 

In-store Shwop Drops (two items per store visit) make donations easy, and items need not be from M&S. “Our ultimate aim is to collect as many clothes as we sell and change the way we all shop,” says the brand, which just launched a "swhopped" ladies coat (above) last week: a stylish black peacoat that is also the first high street clothing product made from used clothing.Continue reading...