1

MARKETING NEWS GM gives Zuck a slap in the Facebook ..................................................................................................... 1 99% of Top U.S. Magazines Feature 2D barcodes ................................................................................... 2 Orient-Express combines mobile, print to build email database ............................................................ 4

POSTAL NEWS Paul Vogel to lead new Digital Solutions unit at USPS ............................................................................. 6 Postea and NCR bring post offices to “Facebook generation” ................................................................ 7 USPS hopes summer incentive can boost flagging ad mail volumes ....................................................... 8

PUBLISHING NEWS Berkshire Hathaway to buy Media General newspapers for $142 mln ................................................. 10 Bloomberg to Double Frequency of Bloomberg Pursuits in 2012 ......................................................... 11 Source Interlink’s Hot Rod Brand Relaunches ....................................................................................... 11 National Geographic Learning Enters Higher Education and Career Markets via New Reader Series .. 12 Inside Columbia Magazine Brings Vertical Integration In-House .......................................................... 13

RETAIL NEWS Aldi to open 30 stores in Houston market ............................................................................................. 14 JCPenney to roll out several new brands; open 20,000-sq.-ft. in-store home shop ............................. 14 Macy’s and Aeropostale among national merchants to accept Isis Mobile Wallet .............................. 15 Toys'R'Us plays up QR codes on outdoor toys ....................................................................................... 15 Whole Foods app rewards green behavior with coupons ..................................................................... 16

ECONOMIC UPDATE

GDP: 2.2% in Q1 2012

Unemployment Rate: Unemployment was littlte changed at 8.1 percent

Consumer Confidence: The Index now stands at 69.2, down slightly from 69.5 in March

MARKETING NEWS

GM gives Zuck a slap in the Facebook Allison Schiff , Direct Marketing News . 5/16/2012 The Wall Street Journal broke the story at 2:52 pm on Tuesday, May 15 with a tweet: “GM to stop buying ads on Facebook, sees them as ineffective.” Dare I say, the tweet heard round the world. It was actually only a rumor at that point (General Motors didn't confirm until several hours later), but the news caught fire immediately, as of course it would.

May 21, 2012

2

GM — the third biggest advertiser in the U.S., behind P&G and AT&T — isn't going to stop marketing on Facebook. It's just going to stop paying Facebook for the privilege of doing so. The automaker still plans to maintain its page, where it has more than 378,000 “likes.” That, of course, is free. Well, free for regular people, not marketing behemoths. According to the Journal, GM expends about $30 million a year on agencies to develop its Facebook content and on staff to maintain the page. Joel Ewanick, GM's head of marketing, proffered this rather bland statement to the press regarding the company's decision: GM is “definitely reassessing our advertising on Facebook, although content is effective and important.” What GM spent on Facebook ads — just $10 million — was only a tiny fraction of its total marketing budget. Considering Kantar Media estimates the company dropped $1.8 billion on advertising in 2011, that's about as noticeable as a fly on an elephant's rear. What this means for Facebook's long-awaited, highly anticipated, much-discussed and extensively pondered upcoming IPO is on the mind of every blogger, analyst, journalist, marketer and investor from here to, say, China — the only country in the world other than India whose population is still higher than the number of Facebook users: over 900 million. However a marketer feels about the usefulness of Facebook ads, it's unwise to ignore a website that has more active users than almost triple the population of the United States. But Facebook doesn't hold all the power. If other large advertisers decide to chuck FB ads, Facebook could be cooked, as the Friending Facebook blog on ZDNet rightly points out. How often do Facebook users really click on those ads in the right-hand column? One of my coworkers told me she was able to track down a service she was looking for through a Facebook ad, so for her it worked like a charm. But 57% of users polled by AP/CNBC in a recent survey said they never click on paid ads or sponsored content when they're on Facebook. [CNBC posted the results of the poll on Facebook. Both meta and cheeky.] For a company like Facebook — the Journal says the majority of Facebook's $3.7 billion annual revenue comes from sales — that is certainly unpleasant news. As for me, the effectiveness of Facebook ads is zero. I've never clicked on a single one. 99% of Top U.S. Magazines Feature 2D barcodes Staff Writer , Print In The Mix . 5/16/2012 A survey of the Top 100 U.S. magazines (by circulation) conducted by mobile engagement company Nellymoser has found the use of mobile action barcodes is almost universal. The percentage of magazines with at least one such code went from 78% in Q1 2011 to 99% in Q1 2012.

3

Magazines use of mobile action codes -- QR codes, Microsoft Tags, SnapTags, and digital watermarks -- may launch a video, promote a contest, offer a coupon or deliver an interactive shopping experience on a mobile phone. What the Study Evaluated The Nellymoser study is limited to national titles readily available on newsstands. To compile the data, Nellymoser counted and analyzed every page in these magazines. The study analyzed 38,719 pages in Q1, including 15,691 advertising pages. Every mobile action code was scanned with an iPhone or Android phone. Nellymoser activated every campaign, ran every video, and visited every web page. Key Findings •Every magazine title, except for one, contained at least one mobile action code during the period. •More than 450 brands ran at least one advertisement during Q1 2012 that included a code. •in Q1 2012, 1,365 codes were printed versus 352 during the same period last year. •The percentage of advertising pages with an action code may provide the most accurate measurement of mobile action code adoption. For the first time, the percentage of magazine pages containing an action code exceeded 8% each month in Q1 2012. •QR codes clearly dominated the market with more than 80% of all codes in the Top 100 magazines during Q1, up from 72% in Q4. This is a significant change from Q1 2011 when the market was closely split between QR codes and Microsoft Tags. •All other codes combined had less than 10% share. •More than 85% of action codes are placed on the bottom half of the page, the traditional location for a call to action. •Nearly two-thirds (64%) of all action codes were accompanied by information that described what happens after the scan. This is considered by many to be a best practice and follows the pattern of many other calls to action. •About 45% of all action codes used in magazines (619) came from companies in just four industries: beauty, health, home and fashion. These were the same top industries as during Q4 2011. •As in 2011, the Top 10 Magazines were primarily women’s magazines and home magazine titles – such as InStyle, Brides, Teen Vogue, and This Old House.

4

How Action Codes Are Used In contrast to 2011, where magazine readers might be sent to a web site after scanning a code, advertisers are now creating engaging mobile experiences. Four types of campaigns dominate the use of action codes: • Video demonstrations and branding (e.g., a look behind the scenes, product demos) • Data capture and list building via sweepstakes being an important use • Links to e-commerce sites and store locators for brick-and-mortar locations • Social media sharing with links to Facebook and Twitter. Orient-Express combines mobile, print to build email database - Luxury Daily Rachel Lamb , Mobile Marketer . 5/17/2012 International hotel, river cruise and rail company Orient-Express is building its email database through print and mobile in an advertisement in the May issue of American Express Publishing’s Departures magazine. The four-page spread included a QR code that encouraged consumers to sign up for brand emails. The placement in Departures – which is exclusively for American Express Platinum and Centurian card members with an average household income of $619,000 – ensures that the high-end travel company will see the correct consumers. “QR codes are increasingly appearing in print campaigns as a way to further engage readers,” said Elizabeth DeMaso, managing partner at Brenes Co., New York. “There is a certain element of surprise that readers respond positively to when getting a little something extra, whether it is informative or amusing,” she said. Ms. DeMaso is not affiliated with Orient-Express, but agreed to comment as an industry expert. Orient-Express did not respond before press deadline. Express contact The Departures ad combines editorial images and multichannel touchpoints. The company is promoting its “Journey Like No Other” campaign in which consumers can follow a fictional family of four as they make their way around the globe, traveling by and staying at Orient-Express properties.

5

Some of the properties, including 21 in New York, Grand Hotel Europe in St. Petersburg and the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express are highlighted in full-color images and text. Orient-Express also highlights the brand’s offerings of master classes, celebrations and events at its properties. Consumers are encouraged to get in touch with the brand and are directed to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. There is also a QR code. When consumers scan, they are asked to enter the reservation information for their Orient-Express travel plans. If they do not have one, they are asked to enter their email addresses to receive news from the brand. After consumers enter their information, they can explore the Orient-Express site on their mobile devices. However, it is not optimized for mobile. Cracking the code Brands are increasingly adding multichannel calls to action in print ads. Print is one of the most traditional advertising channels, but luxury marketers may want to try updating their static ads with digital calls to action. This enables brands to stick to their traditional channels to entice older consumers who grew up with that type of marketing while also engaging younger consumers with new-age technology such as QR codes. For example, Bergdorf Goodman has started incorporating mobile and Internet calls-to-action via QR codes and social media call-outs in its bi-annual catalogs. However, marketers should not turn to mobile marketing just to use it. Instead, they should make sure that their content is optimized and that the content works correctly to give the ultimate user experience. “Marketers have to recognize that it can actually be damaging to include QR codes that are non-responsive or are not optimized,” Ms. DeMaso said. “Once the reader has taken the time to scan the code and follow through, they are expecting something in return. “It is always best to build in an element of exclusivity or entertainment along with the information that is being delivered to maximize the impact,” she said.

POSTAL NEWS

6

Paul Vogel to lead new Digital Solutions unit at USPS Steve Cartlege , Post & Parcel . 5/16/2012 The US Postal Service is creating a new Digital Solutions group to create a range of digital products and services. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said in a memo that the new unit would help USPS adapt to the “evolving needs of our customers”, and would grow into a fully-functional business unit over the next year. The new unit will be headed up by Paul Vogel, who moves from his position as the USPS president and chief marketing/sales officer to become president of digital solutions. Nagisa Manabe, a marketing industry veteran most recently vice president of new growth platforms at the Coca-Cola Company, is taking over Vogel’s role as chief marketing/sales officer. The Postmaster General promised a broad mandate for the new Digital Solutions unit to extend the current USPS platform into the digital arena. “We are convinced there is growth potential in this dynamic digital environment,” said Donahoe. “Digital Solutions will begin with a matrixed structure and will grow into a separate business unit over the coming year with the flexibility to explore, pursue, and/or create quickly evolving digital technologies,” added the Postmaster General. Vogel, who will continue to serve within the USPS executive leadership team, said this time last year that the Postal Service was working on a digital strategy, although its priorities since then have been to promote the physical mail and cut operating costs. Vogel spoke to Post&Parcel recently to highlight the potential for hybrid mail products at the Postal Service – mail sent electronically before being printed locally to a recipient for last mile delivery as a physical mail piece. This was something he suggested would not necessarily need any postal reform legislation from Congress to develop. The US Postal Service has seen its First Class Mail volumes drop by around a quarter over the past five years as more and more Americans turn to electronic communications. Executives have expressed concerns that forging ahead with USPS digital platforms could worsen the decline of mail volumes, which has already seen the Postal Service spiraling into $13bn of debt. The Postal Service has over the past year been working to completely overhaul its usps.com website, to become more user-friendly as more customers access retail services online. The website currently boasts more than 1m visitors each day.

7

Manabe Meanwhile, the new USPS chief marketing/sales officer will be responsible for all domestic and international product marketing, development and management as well as sales. Manabe will service on the USPS executive alongside her predecessor, with Donahoe stating that she will “frame a new generation of ideas to promote and grow our organisation”. Prior to her time at Coca-Cola, Manabe worked for seven years at Diageo in various positions including as vice president of marketing for the beverage giant’s Guinness brand in the US, as vice president of US rums and as vice president of innovation. A graduate of Yale and Harvard, Manabe began her career at Proctor & Gamble. Postea and NCR bring post offices to “Facebook generation” Steve Cartlege , Post & Parcel . 5/15/2012 Post offices of the future will be directly linked to social networking websites, connecting Facebook users to their online lives while they make use of retail services, according to technology specialist Postea. The company has formed a partnership with fellow US firm NCR Corporation to jointly market a “next generation” point of sale system for post offices around the world, which links in with the latest online platforms. The companies said bringing together Postea’s Reflex Retail system and NCR’s Advanced Post technology will allow post offices to replace point-of-sale retail systems typically developed before the Internet existed. It will be able to engage customers and make use of social media to boost revenue per customer, while also bringing documentation like the provision of receipts into the modern era. Post office customers will be able to receive receipts through email, social media such as Facebook or via text messages on the new system. Postea said its system would turn every customer session in a post office or alternative access point like a partner-run postal counter or kiosk into an extension of the postal service into the customer’s online world. Michael J Murphy, the chief executive at Virginia-based Postea, said postal customers were increasingly “immersed” in a world of tablets, smartphones and social networking. “Through our partnership with NCR we allow the postal authority to ‘like’ the Facebook generation.

8

“NCR’s Advanced Post technology combined with Postea’s Reflex technology delivers the most compelling solution available. NCR’s worldwide reach allows delivery and localisation to any jurisdiction,” Murphy said. US market Georgia-based NCR has been providing point-of-sale systems to the US Postal Service since 1997, while Postea has also worked closely with the USPS on postal retail technology in recent years, including a 2007 contract to automate USPS Contract Postal Units – retail outlets located outside the USPS-owned network. Postea’s Innovations Group Inc. (IGI) is acting as the first customer for the Reflex Retail system under the NCR partnership. IGI supplies retail technology to USPS, Singapore Post and others. Omar Dajani, the IGI chief executive, said: “This solution is the only technology available that allows IGI to deliver a post-PC era solution while continuing to support legacy technologies. “This allows our customers to catch up with the Facebook generation without incurring prohibitive capital costs.” USPS hopes summer incentive can boost flagging ad mail volumes Steve Cartlege , Post & Parcel . 5/15/2012 The US Postal Service is now inviting commercial mailers to take part in its hotly anticipated summer promotion, which offers a 2% postage discount for letters, flats and cards bearing barcodes suitable for reading by consumer smartphones. USPS is hoping the campaign can help to increase mail volumes during a traditionally low period of the year, after advertising mail volumes have so far this year been seeing a slowdown in the US, thanks in part to a “muted” economy. The 2012 Mobile Commerce and Personalization Promotion follows up last year’s popular summer promotion, which also promoted the use of two-dimensional smartphone barcodes such as Quick Response (QR) codes. This year’s promotion will once again take place in July and August, with First Class Mail and Standard Mail letters, flats and cards eligible, including presort and automation mail. Once again, the Postal Service is seeking to highlight the good response that the physical mail can achieve when integrated with the online communications channel. Mobile barcodes on mailpieces can be scanned by consumers using smartphones and a suitable application, which then points consumers towards a website associated with the content of the mailpiece.

9

This year mailers taking part in the promotion will be expected to produce online content linked to their mailpieces that go beyond the kind of simple websites seen last year. To qualify, mail recipients will have to be pointed to mobile-optimised websites that either allow a product to be purchased, or include content individually tailored towards the specific consumer visiting the website. Gary Reblin, the vice president domestic products at USPS, said mobile technologies were currently one of the fastest-growing technologies in the marketing sector. Mobile purchases were up from 5.5% of ecommerce sales in the US in 2010 to 11% in 2011 during the festive season, he said. Almost half of Americans owning a mobile phone now own a smartphone, according to industry figures. Reblin said: “The integration of direct mail with mobile technologies will not only improve the long-term value of direct mail but also increase returns for merchants.” For those not looking to tie their mobile barcodes to ecommerce websites, the Postal Service said personalising mobile technology was also a strong return on investment for direct mail. “Studies show it improves return on investment,” Reblin said. “Tying personalisation with mobile technology is the next obvious step to enhancing the value of both mail and mobile marketing.” Volumes The Mobile promotion is one of this year’s big efforts by the Postal Service to boost its flagging mail volumes by highlighting the effectiveness of marketing through the mail, particularly in the digital age. The Direct Marketing Association suggests for every $1 spent on marketing through the US Mail, a mailer would receive a $12.75 return. Total mail volume in the Postal Service in the three months up to the end of March 2012 was down 5% compared to the same quarter in 2011, with average daily volume slipping from 554m to 526m items per day. Overall, not including packages USPS saw its mailing revenues drop by $415m in the latest quarter compared to the first three months of the 2011 calendar year. First Class Mail revenue has declined 3% in the last six months, while Standard Mail revenues – dominated by advertising materials – have declined 5.1% in the six months, compared to the same period the previous year. The Postal Service said last week that advertisers have become “more selective” in their mailings, and the fact they now have more communications channels to use is also having a negative impact on mail volume.

10

“Standard Mail volumes were significantly impacted by the decline in advertising spending resulting from the recent recession and also by the continued muted growth in the economy,” the Postal Service reported. “In addition, advertisers continue to become more sophisticated in the targeting of their mailings and utilising alternative media, which also offsets some potential volume growth.”

PUBLISHING NEWS Berkshire Hathaway to buy Media General newspapers for $142 mln Lauren Pollock , MarketWatch . 5/17/2012 Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB) agreed to buy almost all the newspapers owned by Media General Inc. for $142 million while also offering financing to the company, the Oracle of Omaha's latest investment in the U.S. newspaper publishing industry. "In towns and cities where there is a strong sense of community, there is no more important institution than the local paper," Buffett said. "The many locales served by the newspapers we are acquiring fall firmly in this mold and we are delighted they have found a permanent home with Berkshire Hathaway." Berkshire also owns the Buffalo News and has been a major shareholder in Washington Post Co. (WPO). In November, he purchased the Omaha World-Herald Co., publisher of his hometown paper, and has more recently bought up loans in bankrupt Lee Enterprises Inc. (LEE). The investments mark a stark contrast from the dismal fate he forecast for the industry back in 2009. Media General had said in February it was exploring a sale of the newspapers and had received inquiries from a number of third parties. The multimedia provider of broadcast television, digital media and print products has been shifting its business to digital outlets as revenue from its local media websites keeps growing. Under the terms of the deal, Berkshire will acquire 63 daily and weekly titles in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama, in addition to digital assets, including websites and mobile and tablet applications. The deal includes all Media General's newspapers, except its Tampa group, for which Media General said it's in discussions with other prospective buyers. As part of a separate credit agreement, Berkshire will offer Media General a $400 million term loan and a $45 million revolving credit line. The new loan will be used to repay the company's existing bank debt due March 2013 and will mature in May 2020. Media General will issue Berkshire penny warrants for about 4.6 million Class A shares, representing 19.9% of Media General's shares outstanding. In addition, Berkshire has the option to nominate a director to Media General's board. The newspapers will be part of Berkshire's BH Media Group, along with the Omaha World-Herald newspapers.

11

Shares of Media General and Berkshire were inactive premarket. Media General closed Wednesday at $3.14 and is down 23% this year, while Berkshire's Class B shares closed at $80.59 and are up 5.6%. Bloomberg to Double Frequency of Bloomberg Pursuits in 2012 Staff Writer , The Write News . 5/15/2012 AdWeek reports that Bloomberg is doubling the frequency of its luxury lifestyle magazine, Bloomberg Pursuits. Doubling means the publication will go from two issues in 2012 to four issues in 2013. Strong ad sales helped motivate Bloomberg to publish more issues. Some of the subjects the magazine covers include art, luxury cars, travel destinations, real estate, fashion, watches, wine and luxury services. It is targeted at ultra-affluent readers. Bloomberg says it has a global circulation of 375,000. The editor of the magazine is Vince Bielski. He also edits the Wealth section of Bloomberg Markets magazine. Source Interlink’s Hot Rod Brand Relaunches Ioanna Opidee , Folio . 5/16/2012 Building to its 65th anniversary next year, Source Interlink's Hot Rod brand readies a comprehensive relaunch across print, online, video and social media, including a 40-50 percent editorial page increase for the magazine. Starting with its September issue, which drops in July, the print product will contain 125 edit pages. The brand's long-held tagline, "Where it all began," will extend to include, "Where it's all going"—a move that emphasizes its push on "what's happening in the future, instead of dwelling on what happened in the past," says editor-in-chief David Freiburger. Content across all of its products—two shows on sister brand Motortrend's YouTube channel, its redesigned website, its "Then and Now" iPad app, its licensed Hot Rod Live Radio, and its Hot Rod TV program on the Speed Channel—will refocus on being "bigger, better, faster, louder." An example is Freiburger's recent 200-miles-per-hour test drive of a 2012 Chevy Camaro with performance modifications. "The marketplace for late model performance cars is younger," Freiburger says. "We haven't had the relevance there that we should have." The test drive was captured in a video on Hot Rod's site, blasted out as news and will be featured in print. "We're thinking about entertainment more than anything else," says Freiburger. "I need to give people what they can't get on the Internet. That means leveraging my access and my budget and my people to have readers say, at least once per issue, ‘I can't believe they did that.'" To support this brand relaunch, the company hired two new staffers, including an executive editor to manage logistics. "That's huge for me because I can focus more on the creative," says Freiburger, who

12

adds that his current edit staff of seven is larger than the staff of five when he started with the magazine in 1991. National Geographic Learning Enters Higher Education and Career Markets via New Reader Series Press Release , Printing Impressions . 5/18/2012 National Geographic Learning (NGL), part of Cengage Learning and a provider of quality educational materials for the K‐12, higher education, adult education and ELT markets, today announced its entrance into the academic higher education and career markets with the release of a new series of educational readers. The National Geographic Learning Reader Series was created by experienced subject matter experts using the distinguished, multimedia-rich content of the National Geographic Society. “As a result of our ongoing relationship with the National Geographic Society, we are excited to introduce this new series of educational materials to our core academic higher education and career markets,” said Sean W. Wakely , executive vice president, Cengage Learning. “As our relationship progresses, we will make even greater use of the world-renowned and respected National Geographic content through the introduction of new NGL and Cengage Learning solutions and by incorporating the content into revisions of existing popular titles. We believe that National Geographic Society assets greatly enhance teaching and learning when paired with our leading pedagogy and authoritative content, resulting in greater levels of student engagement stimulated by real-world applications of the presented topics.” "These readers are a natural extension of the mission of the National Geographic Society – to inspire people to care about the planet,” said Mark Bauman, senior vice president, content development, Mission Programs, National Geographic Society. “Our world-class explorers and scientists remind students that exploration begins in the classroom. This new National Geographic Learning Reader Series will provide students with expanded views of the world around them while helping to ensure that topics discussed in class can easily relate to many aspects of everyday life.” The National Geographic Learning Reader Series is the product of an exclusive relationship between Cengage Learning and the National Geographic Society, an organization that represents a tradition of amazing stories, exceptional research, firsthand accounts of exploration, rich content and authentic materials. The series brings learning to life through the combination of compelling images, media and text from National Geographic, and content created by experienced subject matter experts. The engaging material within the National Geographic Learning Reader Series helps students to develop a clearer understanding of the world around them and connects key topics in each discipline to important, real-world examples. Published on a variety of topics, the readers can be used in conjunction with most standard textbooks or online materials. Readers in the series include Archaeology, Architecture and Construction, Biological Anthropology, Climate Change, Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Identity in America, Gender Roles: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, Green, Sustainability, Travel and Tourism, and Water: Global Challenges and

13

Policy of Freshwater Use. Several titles are currently available, and others will be released over the coming months. Each new book purchased features complimentary one-semester access to the media-rich eBook version. Beyond the new National Geographic Learning Reader Series, NGL plans to integrate National Geographic content into several existing, best-selling Cengage Learning academic higher education and career textbooks. In the coming years, these titles will be enhanced to include articles, photos, videos, interviews and profiles. Additionally, NGL will create several new, core learning solutions for academic higher education courses to be co-branded with respected Cengage Learning sub-brands such as Wadsworth, Heinle, Brooks-Cole and Delmar. These new print and digital learning solutions will be built from the ground up with National Geographic content leveraged from the start of the product development process, providing the ability to maximize the integration of National Geographic and Cengage author content throughout the resulting learning solutions. Inside Columbia Magazine Brings Vertical Integration In-House Author , Folio . 5/14/2012 When Inside Columbia—a city and regional magazine targeting the residents of Columbia, Missouri—relocated its headquarters in a building constructed in the 1940s, it discovered an opportunity for a unique brand expansion—a cooking school. The magazine has had a focus on the food category, one of six core competencies it identified a few years ago in a vertical integration strategy: It hosts culinary trips where 30-60 readers are brought on a cooking adventures to foodie cities such as New York, Sonoma and New Orleans; produces a week-long wine and food festival; and publishes wine newsletters. As the building was being remodeled to accommodate the magazine's new offices, there was plenty of space left over—"We realized we could do a cooking school in there," publisher Fred Parry says. But rather than simply being an added, and incremental, revenue opportunity to offer cooking classes to readers, the space took on a host of side benefits and new business models. "In addition to allowing us to deepen our commitment to the category, it also builds community by bringing the audience into the building. It created a greater engagement with readers that we didn't anticipate." The space, which cost about 20 percent of the building's $1 million rehab, can accommodate up to 72 people, but the cooking school business plan is viable with 36. Initially, Inside Columbia was producing two classes per week, but now the school is modeled around 6-week semester, with 36 classes each year. Yet from those classes sprang opportunities to rent the space out for a variety of other events. "We had an immediate demand for private venue rental, and there's a lot more margin on venue rentals than the cooking classes. We average between 1 and 2 events per week," says Parry.

14

Events include wedding rehearsals, retreats, team building events, and hosted lunches for advertisers and community leaders. "We do CEO roundtables where we invite local CEOs for these luncheons. We have a boardroom that can seat 20, but this adds another dimension where they can actually see the chefs prepare the meal and be served," adds Parry. As for the rented events, those present a unique branding opportunity. "We build the brand and engage with people on our own turf," says Parry. "It's a little shameful, but the truth of the matter is, people come in here and fall in love with the space. Branding is probably the number-one benefit. Our magazine covers are all over the walls. These people are celebrating big moments in their lives and they're surrounded by not-so-subliminal messages about our brand."

RETAIL NEWS Aldi to open 30 stores in Houston market Marianne Wilson , Chain Store Age . 5/15/2012 Discount supermarket operator Aldi announced it is preparing to enter the Houston market with 30 new stores over the next three years. The expansion will begin in spring of 2013, with the opening of more than 10 new locations. With this expanded Texas footprint, Aldi is expected to bring 400 jobs and an investment of over $100 million of capital expenditures to the local community. The first Aldi stores in Houston will open in the spring of 2013, with more than 10 new locations. “Our history and recent growth in Texas has us poised for great success in the Houston area as more and more shoppers are discovering the high-value, high-quality shopping experience that Aldi offers,” said Scott Huska, division VP for Aldi. The chain currently has more than 1,200 stores in 32 states, including 37 stores in Texas, most of which are located in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area. JCPenney to roll out several new brands; open 20,000-sq.-ft. in-store home shop Marianne Wilson , Retailing Today . 5/18/2012 JCPenney executives laid out further details of their strategy going forward during the chain’s quarterly conference call with investors. The call followed the release of JCPenney’s first quarter results, when it reported a worse-then-expected loss of $163 million, and a 19% drop in same-store sales. JCPenney said it would launch a new private label apparel brand, jcp, for both men and women. The brand is set to debut in August. In addition, JCPenney said it will debut several brands in the fall, including a line for young girls, called Dream Pop by Cynthia R. It also will roll out branded collections from designers Betsey Johnson, Vivienne Tam and Lulu Guiness. JCPenney is also looking to expand such brands as Puma and Nike, and rebuild its St. John's Bay, Worthington and Stafford brands.

15

In other plans, the retailer in the first half of 2013 will launch a 20,000-sq.-ft. home department, which will be anchored by the Martha Stewart shop, according to Advertising Age. Collections by designers Jonathan Adler and Michael Graves (whose partnership with Target recently ended) will be represented in the new space, the report said. Macy’s and Aeropostale among national merchants to accept Isis Mobile Wallet Staff Writer , Chain Store Age . 5/17/2012 Isis, the mobile commerce joint venture created by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, announced that Aeropostale, Champs Sports, Dillard’s, Foot Locker, Jamba Juice and Macy’s are among the first national merchants to join with Isis in advancing mobile commerce. The company also announced the first of its local merchant partners across Austin, Texas and Salt Lake City. “Today’s announcement signals the mobile commerce experience has arrived. A strong merchant base in Austin and Salt Lake City will make the Isis Mobile Wallet real for consumers as they choose to use their mobile wallet at many of their favorite merchant locations to pay and redeem offers,” said Jim Stapleton, chief sales officer, Isis. “We look forward to working closely with both local and national merchants to enable a mobile commerce experience that transforms how consumers shop and interact with their favorite brands.” Beyond payments, Isis will provide merchants with a platform to extend relevant offers and loyalty programs to their customer base, ensuring a more relevant and meaningful dialogue for consumers and merchants, the company said. Toys'R'Us plays up QR codes on outdoor toys Gail Hoffer , Retailing Today . 5/18/2012 Toys"R"Us has added QR codes to more than 20 large outdoor items to help customers better visualize how the toy would work and look in their own backyards. Customers can simply scan the QR code of the product they are interested in with their smartphone to view video footage or images of the item fully set up. Many of the products have corresponding videos that showcase kids playing with these fun summer toys. Outdoor items featuring QR codes include trampolines from Bravo Sports, pools from Summer Escapes by Polypool and a variety of products from Step 2, such as sandboxes, slides, clubhouses and picnic tables. For example, if a customer is considering purchasing the Tropical Island Resort with Umbrella from Step 2, they can scan the product’s QR code with their smartphone and view a video of the item in action, completely set up with water and kids at play.

16

Whole Foods app rewards green behavior with coupons Gail Hoffer , Retailing Today . 5/14/2012 Whole Foods is rewarding customer that live a green lifestyle through its new app it created with Whole Planet Foundation and BlueAvocado. The "Make Change. Not Waste." mobile iPhone application allows users to earn badges and coupons for a number of green behaviors including recycling, using a reusable bag and biking to work. After completing 10 green actions, customers can unlock one coupon from leading green brands including: Nature's Path, Alexia Foods, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, Stonyfield, Frontier Co-op and Organic Valley. Shoppers can also donate a percentage of the coupon value back to Whole Planet Foundation. The app is available to download from the Apple Store. "We're excited to help shoppers find easy ways to protect the planet, track their green choices and fund poverty alleviation projects around the world," said Philip Sansone, president and executive director of Whole Planet Foundation. "Through this app, shoppers can invest in making a real difference for the planet and their global neighbors."