Pharmaceutical brands are big business, and the competition is fierce. Pharma brands are exploring inventive and aggressive ways to reach existing and prospective consumers, which often means promoting them like many other mainstream products.

So it's no surprise that Prevacid 24HR, an over-the-counter competitor of Prilosec OTC (both drugs are designed to ease the symptoms associated with heartburn) is flooding retailers with in-store promotions that rival even the most aggressive consumer marketing tactics. Even before its November launch, Prevacid 24 HR was being touted by retail superstores Costco, Target, and Wal-Mart, grocery stores Kroger and Safeway, and drug chains CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens.Continue reading...

Electric bikes may not have the same juice as a Vespa, but major bike brands Schwinn, Trek, and Giant, are revving up to roll out new models. These next-generation e-bikes are a little more stylish, lighter, and charged. How cool is riding a bike with an electric sensor that knows when you need a push up a steep hill?

In ten years, the emerging e-bike market has grown from virtually nonexistent into an $11 billion global market, reports the NY Times. Roughly 80 percent of e-bike action resides in China, followed by Europe. Interest is spurring in India and the United States.

Eco-friendly Hero Electric, a division of India’s largest bicycle manufacture, now has seven e-bike models and expects sales to increase from 100,000 units sold in 2009 to 250,000 in 2012. An estimated 20,000 to 25,000 e-bikes were sold in the US last year, says bicycle industry consultant Jay Townley. Held back by the recession and unemployment, overall bike sales are down from 18 million units sold in 2008 to an estimated 12 million in 2009, he says.

But the future looks bright for bicycle brands.Continue reading...

Target announces an upcoming $1B-funded remodeling project. [Daily Finance]

Holiday sales boost Apple earnings by 50 percent. [Bloomberg]

H&M's line of organic cotton may not be so earth-friendly after all. [The Cut]

Delta plans to give old planes a makeover rather than buy new ones. [NPR]

Kraft's South Beach granola bars ads say more protein, box proves less. [Consumerist]

It's not too unusual these days to find DVDs for sale in supermarket chains. But how about a supermarket chain that actually creates and produces its own movies that are available only at its respective stores? Talk about synergy.

Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket group, is partnering with a media firm to create DVD feature films based on books. The films will be available only as DVDs -- not in movie theaters -- and will be sold only through Tesco's retail and online operations.

"This ground-breaking relationship with Amber Entertainment is a significant development for Tesco and the first of its kind for the industry," says Tesco's entertainment director, Rob Salter. "Through this partnership we will be able to offer our customers an exclusive window to own a first-run film from a range of well-known authors."Continue reading...

Whether you’re opposed to having an enormous Target store in your quaint little town, or love your local Target’s big-box convenience, or perhaps live outside the US and always wanted a Target to call your own -- we’ve got good news for all of you.

The red-and-white retailer recently announced a major shift in strategy. For years Target was all about massive expansion, opening more than 100 stores in some years, and an impressive 60 in a challenging 2009. In 2010, however, Target will open fewer than 10 stores. Instead, it will beef up its current stores with, well, beef and other groceries. Target will also begin a push into foreign markets including Canada, Mexico, and South America. But NIMBYs shouldn’t put away their protest signs: the big box brand is looking to test a smaller-store format in several urban areas.Continue reading...

MetLife is in final negotiations to purchase AIG. [WSJ]

AMC purchases Kerasotes Showplace Theatres. [LA Times]

Verizon raises termination fee. [Washington Post]

Motorola launches a rewards program for loyal customers. [AdWeek]

Toyota seeks out lithium battery supply in Argentina. [WSJ]

Citigroup experiences a fourth-quarter $7.6 billion loss. [CNN Money]Continue reading...

In recent years, Sears and its corporate sibling Kmart have been the ailing cousins to the virile Target and Wal-Mart, but some aggressive marketing and Web 2.0 thinking might keep those brands from joining A&S and Kaufmann’s in department store heaven.

Sears and Kmart are operated by Sears Holding Corporation, whose chairman is the billionaire Edward S. Lampert. The mercurial Lampert tends to run Sears the way George Steinbrenner ran the Yankees (constant executive turnover, pound-foolish penny-pinching), but just like “The Boss,” Lampert has opened his wallet for the players on the field, in this case apps and websites in the league of online retail, the Wall Street Journal reports.Continue reading...

Rue 33 Premium Vodka, the latest product offering from Sam's Club, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart, illustrates that store brands are now completely entrenched in the shopping habits of mainstream consumers. The new product will be added to the discount retailer's growing Member's Mark store brand.

Store brands, also known as private labels, are a win-win situation for stores because they offer lower prices for consumers and higher profit margins by selling merchandise that has been produced without costly vendors in the middle.

Retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart fill their shelves with self-branded items that compete on price with a variety of big name national brands like Crest, Johnson & Johnson, and Purina. Supermarket chain Kroger has one of the deepest private-label manufacturing networks in the US and garners more sales from private-label products than Wal-Mart, its primary competitor in grocery sales.Continue reading...

Charmin employs bathroom humor over Broadway. [BrandFreak]

Google unveils Nexus One, wireless carrier plans. [Business Insider]

Morgan Freeman will replace Walter Cronkite as the voice of CBS News. [DailyFinance]

Target testing "warehouse deals" in lieu of seasonal merchandise in some stores. [Consumerist]

You can't wholeheartedly trust the results of many consumer surveys, especially if they're about retail chains. Opinions change as quickly as prices drop, primarily because they're based on consumer reaction to specific shopping experiences.

One new survey, however, is especially interesting because it reports on the experiences of more than 3,000 mystery shoppers -- people who are paid to evaluate stores, product offerings, and customer service. Respondents ranged widely in age, from 19 to 72. Half of them had incomes over $50,000 annually, and 75 percent were women.Continue reading...

RIM posts strong sales, Palm's figures dip. [WSJ]

Firestone tires rekindles its relationship with Major League Baseball. [NY Times]

Infant deaths are linked to Simplicity brand cribs. [NY Times]

Buoyed by a stronger brand and efficiency, Coke raises 2009 earnings estimate. [WaPo]

Chrysler expects brand image makeover to take two years. [WSJ]

The PGA Tour estimates Tigergate will cost the association $220M. [Warc]Continue reading...

One retailer is managing to survive -- and even thrive -- because of its leadership in "fast fashion."

Sweden's H&M relies on designers to keep fashion fresh, "as if it were a perishable good," allowing the world's third largest fashion chain to introduce lines quickly and compete effectively with such rivals as Gap (US) and Inditex (Spain).

While H&M experienced a drop in same-store sales in November, as did most retailers, the company today reported, "Christmas shopping had started strongly." (Net profit for the chain in 2008 was up 11 percent over the year prior.)

Now more than 60 years old, family-owned H&M has close to 2000 stores in 35 countries and continues to plan for expansion. H&M has managed to grow while other retailers have faced store closings, cost cutting, and layoffs -- and in some cases bankruptcy.Continue reading...

Target has been upping its own ante for the past few holiday seasons. This year is no different: the store is now testing new two-in-one gift cards with remote control functionality. It won't do your laundry, but it will make your kids as excited as getting a McDonald's Happy Meal toy. And who doesn't love those?

Besides storing money, each card is shaped like a piece of cheese, and wirelessly controls a Christmas mouse inside a miniature Target shopping cart. How adorable, right? The mouse, free with each gift card, moves back and forth via the antenna and button-equipped remote.Continue reading...

Look what brand decided to grace Black Friday with its presence? Apple.

Oh to be a brand as strong as Apple with no need to drag down your image by joining the deep-discounting Black Friday tradition. This year, Apple's in-store discount offers include knocking $101 off $1,200 Macbook Pros, $41 off the $500 64G iPod Touch and $21 off the $230 Apple TV, amongst others. Are these great deals? No.

How do tech shoppers feel about this? Predictably:

This is the most sorry excuse for a Black Friday sale I've ever seen. At first I saw this as a missed opportunity on Apple's part. But now it seems more like a glaring slap in the face to anyone who ever thought about buying an Apple product today...

Apple products are available at big box retailers for less. For example, Target offered 32G iPod Touches for $30 less than Apple's online store.

As usual, this is a shrewd branding move on Apple's part. Those who are entry level Apple users will seek out the brands at big box discount prices. Brand-loyal Apple aficionados who shop at the Apple Store? The brand already knows they are hooked. Every dealer knows, only the first hit is free.

For all Black Friday Live! posts go to the Black Friday Live! tag.

It's make-or-break time for many brands, especially retail ones. Wal-Mart and Amazon have started World War III, and Best Buy needs good numbers. Also, everyone from JC Penney to Sears to Radio Shack to Kohl's needs consumers to loosen the purse strings. A retail brand with nothing to worry about this year? Circuit City.

So, how bad could it be? Check out Gizmodo's Black Friday disaster photoshop contest. Or, you know, for less photoshopped, more "real" disaster potential, check out the stock performance of retailers before the market closes, maybe mercifully, at noon. Target, Sears, Tiffany & Co., J Crew, and Best Buy were all gainers on Wednesday's close but, thanks to the Dubai mess, every stock is down this morning.

Anyway, let's see how it's going so far...

In California, some Best Buys are reporting over 1,000 people lined up for 5:00 am openings. And flatscreen TVs. That's the story so far. People are really after the flatscreen TV deals. One TV deal that nobody will be getting? Sears' a 54-inch 1080p HDTV for $399.99:

"WHOOPS! The email we sent you Monday had the wrong TV offer in it! We are not offering a Panasonic 54" class 1080p 600Hz plasma HDTV for $399.99. We apologize for this mistake and assure you that we are taking every step to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Business Insider has an outstanding round-up of Tweets from this morning's Black Friday openings (warning: a couple feature harsh language). The site also has an early morning collection of reports from the front lines:

"Aurora, Illinois: 'Black Friday shoppers got an early start this year, causing a 2-mile traffic back-up near Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora...Starting about 11 p.m. Thursday, cars began lining up to get into the mall, according to Illinois State Police...The mall opened at midnight, and the heavy traffic remained for several hours, State Police said.'"

Elsewhere, it appears shoppers are not dissuaded and are doing the rounds:

"The friends said they had been shopping all night, starting at Toys "R" Us, which opened at midnight. They said they arrived there at 11 p.m., but didn’t get in until 12:30 a.m. After that, they stopped at Wal-Mart, which was open all night but had special sales starting at 5 a.m. Even after the full night of shopping, Woodring and Metcalfe said they hadn’t quite checked everyone off their gift-buying lists.

'We’re getting there,' Woodring said."

And those Zhu Zhu hamsters? They just might save Toys "R" Us's bacon. Good grief:

"Zhu Zhu fanatics were so numerous on Thanksgiving night, that they were given their own line in front of the flagship Toys R Us store in New York's Times Square. Hundreds of shoppers queued for hours ahead of the midnight opening, specifically so they could get their hands on the robotic rodents."

But for those shoppers who are getting late starts, the best deals are already gone, including those Zhu Zhu hamsters. Target's Leap Frog Fridge Magnets are gone. Wal-Mart's $98 Nintendo DS Lite is sold out. It's 50-inch TV and Rock Star game deals? Ditto. But Wal-Mart clerks in Georgia said "$2 bath towels, kitchen items and children's toys were also selling well."

So where might late-rising (hungover?) shoppers want to turn now? Amazon.com:

With an estimate of 5% more shoppers participating this year over last, most early estimates are for a better retail season. Early reports from Grapevine Mills in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas indicate stores are already seeing double-digit increase in sales over last year's Black Friday. If that holds even partly true for many other retailers and brands, this could be a very happy holiday indeed.

This will especially be the case if a successful Black Holiday manages to "brand" the retail season. That is to say, if consumers hear positive reports about other consumers being very confident this season, about how the worst is all behind them, about how the deals are too good to pass up, they might be more likely to have a positive outlook themselves. Like any strong brand, it's infectious.

For all Black Friday Live! posts go to the Black Friday Live! tag.