General Merchandise

NEW YORK — A Jamestown, N.D.-based company has a line of sweatshirts that include extendable cuffs that turn into fingerless gloves, and it's looking for distributors and wholesalers.

Handcuffs, marketed by Orriginals, were introduced at the Magic apparel show in 1998 and have since found favor among such celebrities as Jay Leno, Garth Brooks and Rosie O'Donnell.

CINCINNATI — Tide Pods, a line of laundry detergent capsules from Proctor & Gamble, has announced a new partnership with acclaimed clothing designer and Council of Fashion Designers of America member Tracy Reese.

NEW YORK — Nielsen Holdings on Monday named Karen Kornbluh its EVP external affairs, effective immediately. Reporting to incoming CEO Mitch Barns — who succeeds CEO David Calhoun on Jan. 1 — Kornbluh will lead Nielsen’s global work in a number of key areas, including: government and public affairs and services; privacy strategy; corporate social responsibility; and multicultural market development. She will be based in Washington but will split her time in New York.

NEW YORK — Target has introduced a section of its website that features products popular on Pinterest.

The Target Awesome Shop includes products from several lines, including beauty, each of which is among those most-pinned on Pinterest in the last few days, but only if they have at least a four-star guest review.

The website is currently in beta testing and was put together "in a matter of a few weeks" by Target's Rapid Accelerated Development team, a small group of digital experts working for the company.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Meijer will donate up to $10,000 to benefit three diaper banks in the Midwest, the mass merchandise retailer said Thursday.

NEW YORK — GfK Consumer Experiences North America on Thursday released its GfK Brand Benchmark Study, which assessed US consumers’ relationships with hundreds of products and services in 48 categories, and found stark disparities in what different generations value in a brand. For example, while both Generations X and Y value a product’s functionality, Gen Y also cares strongly about a brand’s image and notoriety. 

CHICAGO — IRI on Tuesday announced that it has formed a business agreement with Intage, a marketing research company in Japan.

Under this agreement, IRI clients gain access to Japanese retail point-of-sale data via the IRI Global Executive Market Reviews service. In turn, Intage is able to provide CPG and retail information and insights to their clients from all markets IRI serves worldwide.

WASHINGTON — Elderly and disabled people nationwide have saved almost $9 billion on prescription drugs thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a new study by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.