Center Store

Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group said that back-to-college has become a big opportunity for retailers, and everybody wants part of the business. Last year, families spent an average of $800 on back-to-college products.


TAMPA, Fla. — Sam's Club has signed a deal with Triad Retail Media to provide pet care information on its website, Triad said Wednesday.

NEW YORK — One of the first lessons in life that children learn is that getting sick isn’t fun, and going to the pharmacy isn’t too exciting either. In 2004, pharmacist Charles Tabouchirani decided to change that by opening Cherry’s Pharmacy, a store that specializes in dealing with children.

ATLANTA — Coca-Cola’s Honest Tea brand began the rollout of its Not Too Sweet Tea, a traditional sweet tea with 40% less sugar and calories than the leading sweet teas. The new addition to Honest Tea’s lineup is brewed with organic black tea leaves and is sweetened with “just a tad” (25 g) of organic cane sugar and organic stevia. Each 16.9-fl.-oz. bottle contains 100 calories, compared with leading brands of sweet tea, which contain an average of 43 g of sugar and 174 calories per 16.9-fl.-oz. bottle.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Global Market Development Center will host its 42nd annual General Merchandise Conference in approximately three weeks in Orlando, Fla., the association announced Monday. Running June 1 through June 5, GMDC is expecting more than 900 attendees for the front-end show.

PURCHASE, N.Y. — Mountain Dew has partnered with Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight Rises," which will hit theaters this summer.

Mountain Dew's "The Dark Knight Rises" 360-degree campaign will include the debut of Mtn Dew Dark Berry, a new limited-edition flavor inspired by "The Dark Knight Rises;" limited-edition 16-oz. cans of Mountain Dew that will feature a thermochromic bat symbol that transforms from black to green color when chilled; as well as cable, primetime TV, radio and digital advertising.

MADISON, Wis. — Oscar Mayer has introduced a complete line of meat products that is free of artificial preservatives, flavors and colors.

Oscar Mayer Selects, which includes hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts, builds on the initial rollout of Oscar Mayer Selects hot dogs, which were introduced in 2010. This year, 50% of new Oscar Mayer products will have no artificial preservatives. What's more, the brand is looking to reduce the sodium content in its products by 20% across the entire portfolio by the year's end.

ATLANTA — Coca-Cola reportedly is gearing up to roll out mid-calorie beverages in select markets.

Scott Williamson, a Coca-Cola spokesman, was quoted as saying that the beverages, which will be marketed under the Sprite and Fanta brands, is "a limited test of new formulations to see if they might appeal to consumers."