By John Glenday Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is to move toward bricks and mortar retailing after investing $692m in a local department store operator. Alibab will purchase $214m of shares of Intime Retail as well as purchasing a further $478m of convertible bonds in the group, giving Alibaba a 26.1 per cent stake in the retailer when these bonds convert to shares. Both firms now plan to form a joint venture developing online-to-offline business in shopping malls, department stores and supermarkets throughout China, tapping into burgeoning smartphone usage. The move is being heralded as an attempt to marry the convenience of web browsing with the benefits Read full story › Source: The Drum...
Read MoreBy John Glenday Diet Coke Frost, a frozen variant of the popular soft drink, has been abruptly withdrawn from sale in the US after just one month over quality concerns. The drink had been available from 7-Eleven stores but a ‘significant’ number of these had struggled to achieve consistence when freezing the beverage, prompting both Coca-Cola and the retailer to pull the plug on the venture. In a joint statement the firm’s said: “In keeping with both companies’ quality standards, 7-Eleven has decided to remove the product.” Billed as a low calorie slurpee the chilled drink had received positive reviews from consumers but Coca-Cola has made Read full story › Source: The Drum...
Read MoreBy Gillian West “After the people and the product that you produce, the reception is the most important aspect of any business, full stop,” says Dave Buonaguidi, chief creative officer at Karmarama, whose office boasts a disco tunnel, a huge red Buddha, a VW camper van and a life-size plastic llama. Read full story › Source: The Drum...
Read MoreFlybe unveils new marketing strategy and brand refresh. Read full story › Source: Marketing Week...
Read MoreBy Jennifer Faull Coca-Cola has been named the most powerful brand in anannual study by CoreBrand. The Coca-Cola company has taken the top spot for the sixth year running, having been first crowed the ‘most-powerful’ in 2008. Hershey was named the number two brand in the study while Bayer, a chemical company, rose from its number four spot of 2013 to take third place. Although Amazon found itself at the bottom of the list, CoreBrands said it “has the greatest momentum”. “Amazon.com is new to the top 100 list and has gained 25 positions to come in ranked 91st,” stated the report. Read full story › Source: The Drum...
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