ReportersNotebook — General Merchandise, 11/19/12

SUPPLIER NEWS — Procter & Gamble battery brand Duracell assisted with post-Hurricane Sandy relief efforts by bringing a little power to, coincidentally, Battery Park in New York. 


The company set up its Power Forward Community Center in the lower Manhattan park — offering New Yorkers charging stations for mobile phones and devices, as well as computers with Internet access — and sent its Rapid Responder four-by-four truck, introduced just this year, straight to the streets of New York and New Jersey. Both the power-relief center and the Rapid Responder truck — Duracell calls the combination its “PowerForward Fleet” — offered free batteries to help people power radios and flashlights. The truck also made multiple stops throughout the Hoboken, N.J., area.


Meijer will offer discounts on more than 400 toys at stores and online in anticipation of the holiday season, the chain announced earlier this month.


Meijer also plans to release a holiday gift guide that includes 18 pages of toys and an online release of its list of its top 25 toys. The toy discounts include toys in “virtually every” category, ranging from action figures to educational toys.